Alumni Honorees
Nominations for these awards presented at Homecoming 2012 are still being accepted.
To learn more about the awards or to nominate someone you know, click here.
All-Alumni Banquet
Saturday, September 17
Jane F. Earley ’61, Ph.D.
Alumni Award of Merit
As an educator and administrator, Dr. Earley made a difference in higher education through her teaching of thousands of students, as well as her leadership and mentorship to deans across the country. She was an English professor at Mankato State University and the first dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, a position she held for 35 years until her retirement in 2009. She was also MSU’s first female dean and the first woman president of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences. She was a member of the Minnesota News Council, president of the National Conference for Academic Deans and an evaluator for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Robert & Joan Kocher
Distinguished Service Award
The Kochers have faithfully served Coe for over 50 years. Bob was an art professor receiving emeritus status in 2003. He also served as director of the Coe art galleries and curator of the art collection. He and his wife, Joan, co-created soft art sculpture pieces they presented at several exhibitions. In 1990, a 30 year retrospective of Professor Kocher’s work in art was held at Coe. Bob chaired the Sesquicentenial Committee for the college with Joan assisting along the way. Both are members of the Heritage Club, Coe’s planned giving society, and faithfully attend events, concerts, plays and Thursday Forum classes held on campus. In their travels for Coe and personally, they always make a point of reconnecting with former Coe students who might be in the area. The Student Homecoming Committee honored this special couple by naming them Honorary Parade Marshals for the 2009 Homecoming Parade.
Jeremy R. Pilgrim ’96
Young Alum Award
Jamie followed his dream to pursue a career in computer animation and moved to Los Angeles upon graduation from Coe. In his first year, he landed an unpaid technical assistant job with Boss Film Studios working on motion pictures such as Air Force One and Desperate Measures. His talent was quickly recognized in the motion picture and film industry which led to him being named creature technical director for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. His work helped the special effects team win an Oscar for Visual Effects in the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring. He was also a member of the Oscar-winning special effects team on the Matrix. He worked as a senior technical director at Sony Pictures Imageworks being involved in films such as Spider-Man 3 and Beowulf. He is now in the computer games industry as a senior artist at Blizzard Entertainment which has three main franchises of games, World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo.
