Dawn Bonker
For the second year in a row, Chapman University was honored as one of Orange County’s most trusted brands, the only university to earn the award this year.
Hosted by
OC METRO
magazine and the Values Institute at DGWB Advertising and Communications, the Second Annual Orange County Trust Summit and luncheon on Thursday highlighted the 16 most trusted brands in Orange County, as chosen by more than 2,000 respondents who participated in an online survey conducted by the Values Institute, DGWB’s values-based research program.
This year’s honorees included the American Red Cross, Apple, Chapman University, Chick-fil-A, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Costco, Disneyland, Girl Scouts of America, Hoag Hospital, In-N-Out Burger, Nordstrom, Planned Parenthood, St. Joseph Hospital, Target, Toshiba and Wells Fargo. Of that list, Disneyland, Chapman University, In-N-Out, Planned Parenthood and St. Joseph Hospital were the only repeaters from last year.
Representatives from each of the repeat honorees participated in a panel discussion at the event and were asked to describe how trustworthiness supports their mission. Speaking for Chapman, Michael Pelly, director of undergraduate admission, said that even in the recession donors trusted the university to be a good steward of their gifts and continued their support. He recounted an example of one anonymous family’s willingness to donate $9 million to help students whose families were affected by layoffs and other economic challenges.
“You can imagine the number of hard cases we’ve had to look at. Thanks to the contributions of this family, we were able to help hundreds if not thousands of families. Our retention rates were as high as they’ve ever been, and our graduation rates were as high as they’ve ever been — all during a time in which a lot of colleges were struggling,” Pelly said.
Accepting the award at the summit held at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel was Sheryl Bourgeois, executive vice president for University Advancement.
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