May 7, 2012

CLEVELAND – The International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA) has announced its 2012 award winners that will be honored at its Annual Convention, Monday-Thursday, June 25-28 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. The University of Utah was named the 2012 Synergy Award: Program of the Year, while Dickie Van Meter Anderson, formerly of the University of Iowa, will be inducted into the Association’s Hall of Fame.  

“We look forward to honoring the University of Utah with our Association’s premier award and welcoming Dickie into our Hall of Fame,” stated ICLA President Maggie Harris, director trademark licensing at Vanderbilt University.

Synergy Award: Program of the Year – University of Utah

Nearly five years ago, Brett Eden was hired as the Director of the Trademarks and Licensing Office. He came from Utah’s “arch rival” BYU, and brought with him a foundation of relationships and ideas. He has been in licensing for over 10 years.

Richard Fairchild came out of the private sector and has been successful in building relationships with the licensees and retailers to bring on new retail outlets for Utah merchandise.

Tiffany Bell excels in program development, bringing to the department the first ever Trademarks and Licensing Newsletter.  She has also been highly successful bringing a number of new vendors onboard with the Ultimate Utah Wedding.

The time Jenn Reed spends in the day-to-day operations of the department is limited; however she has been instrumental in moving campus policy in the right direction to have a positive impact for the department.

During the last year, under Eden’s leadership, the university has implemented dozens of never-before-tried marketing and brand protection programs. Eden brings to the University of Utah an innovative mindset that drives the licensing program and their partners to create and even improve upon programs that many assume cannot be improved.

Hall of Fame – Dickie Van Meter Anderson, University of Iowa

Starting in the early 1980s, Dickie Van Meter Anderson coordinated the University of Iowa’s Licensing Program and developed and managed a merchandising program which included both event concessions and direct mail. She established Iowa’s Licensing Program in the earliest days of collegiate licensing and contributed many articles to professional publications.

Working with Anne Chasser at Ohio State, she brought together a group of Big Ten universities to explore the future of collegiate licensing. Her persistence and energy were instrumental in forming the Association of Collegiate Licensing Administrators (ACLA), now known as ICLA, and served as its first VP and became the 2nd President following Finus Gaston of Alabama.

Known for her mentoring and encouragement, Anderson worked with many colleges and universities as they struggled to establish their own licensing programs in the earliest and sometimes controversial days. With a strong belief in the strength of a professional association she took on the project of designing the first ACLA logo to be used on licensed products and also developed the association’s first directory.

Following her career at Iowa, Anderson joined Dick Rademaker, Gene Wandling and Lewis Hardy and formed The Licensing Resource Group, offering a variety of services to colleges and universities with licensing programs. She left LRG, moving to Florida in 1996. She is currently a freelance writer and has a marketing/event planning company, Coastal Connections, on Amelia Island, Florida. Anderson is married and a mother of three sons, four grandchildren.

About ICLA: ICLA provides educational and networking opportunities, enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics, and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of collegiate licensing. For more information on ICLA, please visit www.iclanet.com. ICLA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 46^th year. For more information on NACDA and the 11 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.