Steven Nicolet, director of annual giving at Trine University, received a Silver award from District V of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) during the organization's annual conference in Chicago on Dec. 11.

The award was presented to the university in the "Best Event on a Shoestring" category for Trine Day on April 13, 2018. The one-day, 24-hour challenge invited alumni, students, employees and friends to celebrate by dressing in their favorite Trine University gear and supporting the university with a charitable contribution. It included on-campus events as well as social media campaigns and updates on the Trine website.

With a dedicated budget of less than $300, Trine Day raised more than $83,000 from 259 donors. It was part of an effort that saw ninety-six percent of Trine faculty and staff make a charitable gift to the university over the course of the year.

Trine won two Circle of Excellence awards from the national CASE organization in 2012. That year, Julie Hoy, senior creative media specialist, received the Gold award in the "Excellence in Design: Invitations" category, and Dean Orewiler, staff photographer, won the Bronze award for Photographer of the Year.