E-News - December 1, 2018

E-News

Intimate Apparel E-News DecemberBrandon Prince ’19, photo provided by Struttman Photography

Crimson and gold cast and crew in TCR’s “Intimate Apparel”

If you saw “Intimate Apparel” at Theatre Cedar Rapids (TCR), you might not have realized you were among a talented team of Kohawks. When one-third of the cast, three members of the crew and the director and assistant director are Coe students, alumni or professors — crimson and gold shine in the spotlight. 

Although Coe Assistant Professor of Theatre Deanna L. Downes just wrapped her first production at Theatre Cedar Rapids, she’s no stranger to the theater or “Intimate Apparel.” This was Downes’ third encounter with the play, first as assistant director at The Guthrie and second as dramaturge at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 

“Intimate Apparel” was staged in the garden-level Grandon Studio at TCR. This location provided an intimate setting that allowed you to connect with each individual character.   

One of those characters, Mrs. Dickson, was performed by theater major Kierra Young Bey ’19. Downes and Bey previously worked together on “Craigslisted,” an unpublished, new play by a Chicago-based playwright, performed at Coe last February. “I knew Kierra would be a great fit for the role so I encouraged her to audition,” Downes said. “I was familiar with her acting as a Coe student, and her style and ethic were both stellar.”

Another character, George, was performed by Brandon Prince ’19. “Brandon came to Coe to play football and has recently found that his passion and talent lies in screenwriting, but he'd never acted before at Coe,” Downes said. “I encouraged Brandon to audition as well.”

Additional Coe students and alumni were assistant director Lauren Miller ’19, technical director Ben Cyr ’20, assistant stage manager Chelsea White ’12 and crew member Jade Riley ’17

This is one of many examples of how Coe professors help their students both in and beyond the classroom. Coe faculty often form partnerships with community organizations, which in turn benefit Coe students. “My connection with local theater and assisting students with experiences that they wouldn’t have had otherwise — that’s what being a Coe professor is all about. This particular play required a diverse cast; I was fortunate to have a talented pool of students and alumni to recruit,” Downes said. 


Ziskowski and students in Greece
Coe alumni in Greece

Ziskowski makes ancient Greece come alive for alumni and friends

Associate Professor of History Angela Ziskowski has a passion for ancient Greece. As the assistant director of the Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project in Corinth, she has spent the last several summers leading Coe students on archaeological expeditions to the site. This fall, she took a small group of Coe alumni, along with spouses and friends, on a 12-day tour of Greece, giving them an insider view of the country that few others get to experience.
 
The adventure began in Athens, where the group visited legendary sites such as the Parthenon and the Agora. They also took day trips to nearby monuments and toured the American School of Classical Studies, where they viewed a 1488 edition of Homer’s “Odyssey.” On the next stage of their journey, the Kohawk crew stopped on the famed island of Santorini and saw the site of Akrotiri, an ancient settlement buried and preserved by a volcanic eruption.
 
The final leg of the trip brought the group to Nafplio, a town known for its Venetian architecture. Staying at this location allowed them to see ancient Corinth, Mycenae and Epidauros, as well as the archaeological dig at Lechaion. The group had the opportunity to see some of the artifacts recovered by the students and archaeologists from around the world who have been excavating the site. This was the highlight of the trip for Rita Popp ’72. “I can only imagine how exciting it is for Coe students to get hands-on experience at Angela’s dig, where finds are a daily occurrence,” she remarked.
 
The most memorable part of the trip for Ziskowski was getting to know the people with whom she traveled. “To have the opportunity to lecture and travel with such a diverse, well-educated and
thirsty-for-knowledge group was such a treat for me,” she said. “Hearing about their experiences and love for the college, and even for faculty that I know and work with, made me feel like I was part of a real family.”
 
For Tony Popp ’71, the experience was made better with Angela’s guidance and expertise. “Seeing Greece is one thing; seeing Greece with Angela is taking the trip to a whole new level,” he said. “Angela reminded me of the great professors we had while attending Coe. And the fact that we were with others attached to Coe in some way just made it that much better.”


BandCoe Handbell Ensemble

Coe College to celebrate Christmas with Convocation and Vespers services

Christmas will be celebrated with the annual Christmas Convocation beginning at 11 a.m. and Christmas Vespers at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4, both in Sinclair Auditorium. The services will feature the Coe College Chorale and Handbell Ensemble. 

Coe Chorale, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Loralee Songer, will perform traditional anthems and Christmas music. The Coe Handbell Ensemble, directed by MacMillan Assistant Professor of Piano Brett Wolgast, also will perform. Wolgast will accompany the services on the organ. 

Both services follow the grand British Lessons and Carols tradition and are patterned after that of King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England. During the services, hymns and carols are used in place of psalms and canticles. 

A beautiful perspective on the meaning of the Christmas season will be presented through the message of biblical scriptures and verses in carols and anthems. Both services will include the story of Jesus’ birth presented in lessons read throughout the service by Coe College Chaplain Melea White, as well as students, staff and faculty members. Participants will be invited to join in singing several of the Christmas hymns and carols. 

The Coe College Music Department and Office of the Chaplain are co-sponsoring the services. The college would like to thank HyVee for providing refreshments, as well as Roger Baker for his generous support of this event. Both services are free and open to the public with refreshments following each service. For more information, please call 319.399.8605. If you are unable to attend either program in person, you can access the Christmas Convocation webcast at 11 a.m. on Dec. 4 by clicking here.


World War I in Remembrance exhibit

“World War I in Remembrance” exhibit

Letters and a love of music provide chronicle of WWI

The unveiling of Coe’s “World War I in Remembrance” exhibit coincided with the observance of Veterans Day. Alice Kitchin Enichen ’53, daughter of former Coe professor Dr. Joseph Kitchin, visited Coe on Nov. 12 to deliver opening remarks. 

Kitchin joined the Coe College faculty as a professor of music in 1916. The following year, during World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and was assigned to an evacuation hospital at Chateau Montanglaust in Coulommiers, France. This particular hospital, stationed near the front lines, proved to be one of the busiest throughout the war. 

Musical instruments were not allowed on the battlefront; however, as Kitchin’s May 21, 1918, letter states, “I walked right on the ship with my fiddle under my arm, and nobody said a word.”

While deployed, Kitchin religiously wrote letters to his family. These letters have been chronicled and are on display with the exhibit. Kitchin’s letters detail the sights, sounds and mood of WWI — poetically describing how soldiers found goodness in their surroundings despite the ongoing war. 

If you wanted to listen to music on the battlefront, you had to make it yourself, and Kitchin loved music. During his downtime, he would play the violin and pair with singers to entertain the troops and drown out the incessant sound of gunfire and “aeroplanes.” 

The “World War I in Remembrance” exhibit also contains other war mementos including the journal entries of Marvin Cone ’14

Organized by Director of Library Services and College Archivist Jill Jack along with library colleagues, Coe students and professors Bethany Keenan and Ranelle Knight-Lueth, the exhibit is open to the public during normal hours of operation and housed in Cone Galleries in Stewart Memorial Library. Letters were donated to the Coe College archives by Alice Kitchin Enichen.

Kitchin, formerly a longtime faculty violinist and conductor, was instrumental in the development of the music department at Coe — most notably founding the Cedar Rapids Symphony. His name and contributions to the college live on in perpetuity through the Daehler-Kitchin Auditorium in Marquis Hall.


Baden ScholarshipTom Parker, Khadija Amin and Karen Parker

Baden scholarships lead to special Coe connections

Karen Parker didn’t attend Coe, but the college has a special place in her heart all the same. It’s where her parents, Wayne Baden ’40 and Kay Beery Baden ’42, met and fell in love many years ago. They shared their fondness for Coe with their children, and even now that they have passed away, Parker stays connected to the college through students benefiting from scholarships generously established by her parents.
 
Wayne and Kay’s story began in the campus chapel in 1938, where Wayne saw Kay singing in a sextet and decided she was someone he should get to know. Romance followed, and the couple wed in 1940. Their 66-year marriage involved a move to Texas, three children and Wayne’s successful career as a prominent OB-GYN. The two cherished Coe because it was not only the place where they met, but also where they received an outstanding education and made lifelong friends.
 
The Badens wanted to give other Kohawks access to the same experiences they had, so they set up the Wayne F. Baden, M.D., Pre-Medical Scholarship and the Kathryn Beery Baden Music Scholarship. The awards are given to students who plan to enter medical school or have a career in music teaching or performance, and who would otherwise have difficulty covering the costs of their Coe education.
 
Each year, Coe scholarship recipients write thank you letters to their donors describing their college experiences and how the scholarships are helping them achieve their dreams. Parker looks forward to receiving these letters and seeing her parents’ legacy at work. She often keeps in touch with the students and visits campus when she can; she and her husband, Tom, recently stopped by in November to take a tour and meet Khadija Amin ’19, a scholarship recipient who plans to pursue a Master’s in Public Health and attend medical school. 
 
To learn more about how you can give the gift of a Coe education, click here.


Victory Bell during winter
Victory Bell in the snow

’Tis the season for giving

If you ever have wanted to make a difference for Coe and its students, the holiday season is the perfect time. Gifts to the college can be made in many forms, and even with changes in the tax law, it is still possible to make a meaningful impact on Coe and lower your taxes. 

Giving options include:

  • Cash gifts or gifts of appreciated assets — A cash gift is the easiest and most convenient way to make a difference and can be made by clicking here. A stock gift will generate a charitable tax deduction and potentially capital gains tax savings. The strategy provides tax benefits to itemizers and non-itemizers. 
  • Give from your pre-tax assets by making an IRA rollover gift — For those who are 70 ½ years of age or older, this strategy allows you to give up to $100,000 directly from your IRA rather than take the required distribution. This strategy does not result in a charitable deduction but will help you avoid tax on the distribution. 
  • Leave a bequest in your will — A bequest is a good option if you want to retain control of your property during your lifetime. You can provide financial security for family and a legacy gift to Coe. A charitable bequest will help us fulfill our vision for the future of the college.

To learn more about these options, go to www.alumni.coe.edu/waystogive.


Kohawk students in a circleWin a Coe sweatshirt!

Update Your Info for a chance to win!

We want to stay in touch with you all year long, so this holiday season we’re doing something special. If you update your info with us now through December 3, you will be entered in a drawing to win a Coe sweatshirt! If you have moved, changed jobs, welcomed a new family member or have other news to share, we'd love to hear from you! Please click here to update your record.


Coe College Alumni Awards
Nominate an outstanding Kohawk

Nominate an outstanding Kohawk for an Alumni Award!

Do you know a Coe alum or friend of the college who is “making it happen”? Someone who…

  • Excels in their professional field.
  • Gives back to Coe through student engagement, alumni events and/or financial support.
  • Volunteers in their community.

Each year, the Coe College Alumni Association proudly gives out the Alumni Award of Merit, Distinguished Service Award and Young Alum Award to exceptional alumni and friends of the college. If you know someone who deserves an award, or if you would like to nominate yourself, simply click on the corresponding link below. Nominations must be submitted by Dec. 31. 

Alumni Award of Merit 
Distinguished Service Award
Young Alum Award


Upcoming Alumni Events

December 20 — Coe vs. Creighton Pre-Game Party
Get together with Coe alumni, parents and fans for a pre-game party at Blatt Beer & Table in Omaha where appetizers and drinks will be provided. Then, walk a block and enter the CHI Health Center Omaha Arena to watch your Kohawks take on the Blue Jays.