The student-led Majestic Tree Week, which pitted eight campus trees against one another in an NCAA-style bracket, has won global recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Timed for peak fall foliage, the inaugural Majestic Tree Week was held in October 2023. Students in Professor William Fleeger’s Environmental Communication and Advocacy class mounted the multifaceted campaign, which included in-person events, digital design, social media and community outreach.
The team included Mikayla Minton ’24, Cameron Butler ’24, Becks Mifflin ’24, Hannah Meithof ’24 and Chris Johnston ’24. Together, they designed and built the majestictreeweek.org website; researched and quantified each tree, including dry weight and carbon sequestration; and ran the competition via social media. They created recycled and reusable banners for each tree, which began to build buzz on campus. They also organized in-person events, including the Majestic Tree Week Walk and painting river rocks to nestle in the tree roots.
Majestic Tree Week earned a bronze medal in the student engagement category for the 2024 Circle of Excellence Awards. Fellow awardees included the University of Tennessee Foundation, Indiana University, Brigham Young University, Florida State University and Bryant University.
See the winning materials:
The Linfield community embraced the competitive arboreal spirit. Dozens of endorsements poured in from students, professors and even the Sodexo Dining Services team —“Willy [The Black Walnut] helps keep squirrels out of the Dillin trash cans. Thanks Willy.”
In addition, English professors David Sumner and Joe Wilkins held a tree debate — arguing for the Cedar of Lebanon and the White Oak, respectively — and junior Mackenzie Kulick ’25 started the official Majestic Tree Week podcast.
“Majestic Tree Week was a fun and rewarding project both from my perspective as an organizer and student,” Minton said. “Everywhere I walked on campus, students were talking and people were commenting on social media. When I returned to campus six months later after a semester away, people were still talking about MTW!”
Plans are already underway for Majestic Tree Week 2024. Once again, the students in Fleeger’s class, which is co-taught by Media and Public Relations manager Kelly Williams Brown, will lead the efforts. This year, they won’t be alone: professors across multiple departments are integrating trees and the campus habitat into their curriculum. Ideas include learning about the biology of each candidate or creating ceramics based on their bark texture. The 2024 Majestic Tree Tour is currently scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11 during Homecoming Weekend.
In photos: Majestic Tree Week 2023
The CASE’s Circle of Excellence Awards are the premier recognition program for educational advancement. This year, the Circle of Excellence Awards had more than 4,200 entries from 28 countries. Winners are chosen for overall quality, innovation, use of resources, and the impact on the institution or its communities. The student engagement category evaluated student-focused activities advancing the mission of the institution.
Linfield has previously received district-level awards — a gold in the special events category for a 2017 eclipse event, a silver award for the magazine in 2011 and a bronze for the magazine in 2015. Linfield is part of CASE District VIII, which encompasses five U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces in the West.
“As we mark CASE’s 50th anniversary this year, we are taking time to celebrate our members across the globe,” said Sue Cunningham, CASE president and CEO. “Examples of their remarkable work are evident throughout the Circle of Excellence Awards. We applaud the achievements and innovation of advancement professionals across all sectors and all regions — work in schools, colleges and universities that advances education and thereby transforms lives and society.”
