Undergraduate recruiting videotape wins six national awards

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan’s undergraduate recruiting videotape, “Consider Michigan!” has won six national video awards—two second-place Telly Awards (in categories of “Recruitment” and “Public Relations”), two second-place Videographer Awards (categories, “Recruitment,” “Educational Institution”), a second-place Absolute Excellence in Electronic Media Award (category, “Promotion”) and a third-place U.S. International Film & Video Award (category, “Meeting Openers”). Judges in all the competitions were electronic media professionals from across the nation.

Narrated by film and stage star James Earl Jones, a U-M alumnus, the approximately 12-minute program shows a variety of campus activities and locations—ranging from classroom and laboratory to residence hall and sports—and features U-M students, faculty, alumni and officials speaking of the advantages of attending Michigan.

James Vanhecke, senior assistant director in the U-M Undergraduate Admissions Office, says the video is used at presentations by admissions staff to groups of prospective students on and off campus and “is sent to high schools around the world.”

Theodore Spencer, U-M director of undergraduate admissions, notes that while many factors affect a student’s choice of a university, “one is certainly the first view a student gets of a campus and I think this video has had a tremendous impact. We’ve received a record number of applications for entrance next fall—about 23,500, or 3,000 more than a year ago.”

Spencer adds that the number of applicants who have indicated they will attend Michigan is also at record levels.

The video was produced in 1999 by U-M alumnus Alec Friedman, a former U-M television producer, now a New York City-based independent producer.

Undergraduate Admissions OfficeTheodore Spencer