E-News - October 7, 2021

Alumnus David T. Hayes ’93 selected as Coe College’s 16th president

After a competitive national search, the Coe College Board of Trustees has selected Interim President David T. Hayes ’93 as the college’s 16th president. He will assume the presidency immediately.

Acting as interim president since January 1, 2021, Hayes sustained the positive progress of the strategic plan, A Bolder Coe, and guided the college through a public health crisis and recovery from a natural disaster, the August 2020 derecho. In the interim time period, Coe enrolled the third-largest class in the college’s history, received national recognition for its diversity, equity and inclusion as well as internship and career initiatives and successfully advanced fundraising for the David and Janice McInally Center for Health and Society. In his prior role as vice president for advancement he improved relationships across alumni and increased Coe’s average annual fundraising outcomes by nearly 30% over the previous five-year average.

As a faculty member, Hayes was twice named the recipient of the Charles J. Lynch Outstanding Teacher Award and held the Louis J. & Ella Pochobradsky chair. He is a passionate teacher and known for his commitment to the student experience as an engaging and accessible mentor.

“It was clear that David is dedicated to ensuring Coe grows in its role as a leader in higher education and will pursue innovative ideas that enhance both the student experience and Coe’s national reputation,” said Board of Trustees Chair Ken Golder ’82. “He has deep roots both at Coe and across the Cedar Rapids community, and is a leader who can articulate a vision and inspire others to pursue it with the same vigor he will.”

Hayes is the first alum to serve as president at Coe.

“It has been an honor to serve Coe in the interim role. The resiliency and ingenuity of our community over the past nine months has been humbling to witness,” Hayes said. “It is with great joy and eagerness that I begin this new role as president, especially at a college so dear to me personally.

“I am committed to upholding Coe’s values and advocating for our mission, which has resonated with thousands of students over decades. I look forward to continuing the tradition of fostering an informed, curious and innovative campus community.”

Hayes was selected after an extensive national presidential search. The search was initiated in the spring of 2020 with more than 20 stakeholder listening sessions, and then paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The search was reactivated in the spring of 2021 with a 13-member presidential search committee including student leaders Shion Kabasele ’22 and Angelina Ramirez ’22; staff members Andy Cooley (human resources) and Bryan Martin (athletics); faculty members Mario Affatigato ’89 (physics) and Sara Farrell (psychology); and trustees Darryl Banks ’72, Ken Golder ’82 (chair), Kent Herink ’76, Dave Lusson ’87, Tim Sagers ’97, Kristin Strohm ’05 and Carson Veach ’74. Kim Pribyl, assistant to the president, served as search secretary. Over the course of the multi-month process, the search committee reviewed and interviewed a robust and diverse pool of accomplished candidates.

“I am grateful to this committee for their tireless efforts. They spent a significant amount of time reviewing applications and interviewing a highly qualified pool of applicants,” Golder said.

Hayes and his wife, Heather, are the parents of three children, Mackenzie, Johanna and Allison. Heather is the senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids.

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Coe kicks off construction phase of David and Janice McInally Center for Health and Society

In a ceremonial event on September 30, more than 120 students, faculty, staff and members of the local medical community signed their names on a steel beam that will be used in the construction of the David and Janice McInally Center for Health and Society (CHS). Architectural renderings of the future facility were on display and attendees listened to remarks about the impact of the CHS from President David Hayes ’93, Trustee Dr. Tim Sagers ’97 and Board of Trustees Chair Ken Golder ’82. Watch the video and read more about this exciting project.

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Farewell reception held for McInallys

After the CHS steel signing, a long-awaited farewell reception was held for President Emeritus Dave McInally and Former First Lady Janice McInally. Kohawks gathered at a campus barbeque to celebrate Dave and Janice’s service to Coe and wish them well in their next chapter. The evening’s events also included the unveiling of Dave’s presidential portrait painted by Marvin D. Cone Professor of Art Peter Thompson.

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Join us for Homecoming 2021

We are excited to welcome alumni back to campus in a few weeks for a Home Sweet Coe Homecoming celebration! We have been closely monitoring the ongoing concerns around COVID-19, and in an effort to provide the safest and most enjoyable experience possible for the entire Coe community, we have made a few small changes to our schedule:

• The Alumni & Faculty Happy Hour and Common Hour events will be moved from Hickok Hall to Sinclair Lobby and Daehler-Kitchin Auditorium, respectively, to allow for more spacing for attendees. 
• The 48th and 49th Annual Athletic Hall of Fame Reception and Ceremony will now take place in the Eby Fieldhouse Gym. The reception will begin at 5:30 PM on Friday, October 22.
• Beginning at 7:30 PM on Friday, October 22, the All-Alumni Celebration will start outdoors on the Eby quad under a heated tent. Continue the festivities inside the Eby gym starting around 8:00 PM with more food, drinks and music from the Luke Viertel ’09 band.   
• Class reunions that were scheduled to be celebrated at various locations around Cedar Rapids will now take place in the Eby gym on Saturday, October 23, from 6-9 PM.  

For those alumni who join us on campus for this year’s Homecoming, we also would like to share the current COVID-19 protocols that are in effect for the Coe community. Masks are required in all academic buildings and spaces and for indoor events of 30 or more attendees, when not eating or drinking. Disposable masks will be available for those who need one and we appreciate your adherence to these guidelines so that we can provide the safest environment for our Homecoming celebrations.

Ready to attend Homecoming but haven’t registered yet? Do so today and come celebrate with us!

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Coe garners recognition and increased support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts

Coe has been recognized as a leader among its peers regarding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Read the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education article.

The efforts around DEI work were bolstered at the college's most recent board meeting when several trustees stepped forward to start a catalyst fund to strengthen the work already in progress at Coe. The fund will allow Coe to immediately increase efforts and support of the important work within the DEI Office and across campus for all students, faculty and staff.

"We are unwavering in our commitment to create an inclusive and equitable campus for all students," said newly appointed Coe President David Hayes ’93. "The support from our Board of Trustees is evidence of that commitment and will ensure that we remain a leader in this area for the benefit of the entire Coe community.”

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We love to see our Kohawks making headlines for their accomplishments and contributions to their communities. Check out these alumni who recently made the news.

• Mark Atwater ’16, head football coach at Beckman Catholic High School in Dyersville, Iowa, was interviewed after his team defeated Columbus Catholic High School in Beckman’s Homecoming game.
• Ethan Brown ’17 was featured in the Simpson College student newspaper for his new role as assistant director of residence life.
• Andy Molison ’03 was featured in the Grinnell College student newspaper in an article about his business, Grin City Bakery, that he runs with his dad, Bill.
• Dr. Hailey Nelson ’05, a complex care pediatrician and pediatric residency program core faculty member with Valley Children’s Healthcare in California, was named first runner-up in the Dr. America pageant and received the Aetna Community Heart Award for her work on Safe Kids Central California’s lunch and learn Facebook Live series.
• Stephanie Siddens ’94 was named the interim state superintendent of public instruction for the Ohio Department of Education.

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Meet your 2021 Phonathon callers

The Advancement Office’s fall 2021 Phonathon is now in full swing! Student callers are dialing alumni, parents and friends to talk about their Coe experiences, provide updates about what’s happening on campus and share how the Coe community can support the college. Get to know the student callers from their bios below, and if you get a call from 319-399-8507, be sure to answer so you can speak with one of them.

If you’ve already talked to a caller and made a Phonathon gift this year, thank you for your support!

Will ’23

Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Major: Physics
Minors: Math, Anthropology
Campus Groups/Orgs: Society of Physics Students
Favorite thing about Coe: The community!
Plans after graduation: I plan to go to grad school for material science.
 

Michaela ’23

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Major: Secondary Education
Minors: History, Religion
Campus Groups/Orgs: Coe Alliance, Res Life, Greek Life
Favorite thing about Coe: I love how small the Coe Community feels, but is full of opportunities and people from all over the world.
Plans after graduation: As a junior, my plans are starting to become more set in stone. I am considering pursuing a master’s degree as well as teaching high school history.
 

Pam ’25

Hometown: Chicago, IL
Major: Psychology
Minor: Spanish
Campus Groups/Orgs: Multicultural Fusion
Favorite thing about Coe: I love that Coe has a gym available to all students. I love to work out every day after class.
Plans after graduation: My goal after graduation is to become a child and adolescent psychologist.
 

Tory ’25 

Hometown: Chicago, IL
Major: Film Studies
Minors: Digital Art and Asian Studies
Campus Groups/Orgs: Clay Target Team and Anime Club
Favorite thing about Coe: The P.U.B. (especially the Sunrise Croissant)!
Plans after graduation: After graduation, I want to move to Japan to work as an animator.
 

Micki ’25

Hometown: Quad Cities (IL & IA)
Major: Business and Marketing
Minor: Sociology
Campus Groups/Orgs: BSEO, Coespanol, Women in the Lindsay Lounge, Environmental Club, Coe Writing Center
Favorite thing about Coe: My favorite thing about Coe so far is the people!
Plans after graduation: After graduation, I want to own my own event planning business and be happy.

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Coe alum steps up to deliver impactful psychology student internship

Coe College students have access to a notable advantage: Coe’s powerful alumni network. In fact, The Princeton Review ranks Coe 20th in the nation for Best Alumni Network among private colleges. The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor alone is home to over 4,000 alumni with thousands more around the world providing students internship, networking, mentorship and employment opportunities. It might sound too good to be true, but this creates real impact for students like Caroline Strauel ’22.

Strauel was a psychology intern with Dr. Benjamin Tallman '04 in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UnityPoint Health - St. Luke’s Hospital across the street from campus over the summer, and will continue to work with Dr. Tallman this fall in a research-based internship. She was first introduced to Dr. Tallman nearly two years ago when he visited Coe for a presentation. Dr. Tallman is a psychologist working with acute and chronic pain patients and individuals adjusting to traumatic medical conditions such as brain or spinal cord injury.

Visiting alumni professionals like Dr. Tallman are common in the classroom for Coe psychology students, as are research and internship opportunities. In the past, other Coe psychology students gained hands-on experience with notable organizations such as Collins Aerospace, HyVee, Waypoint and United Way.

As Strauel sought out a hands-on learning opportunity to match her interests, she received guidance from her professors as they encouraged her to reach out to Dr. Tallman because of her interest in health psychology. She followed their advice and emailed Dr. Tallman which resulted in an internship position.

“A lot of my experience is observing Dr. Tallman’s interactions with patients and his coworkers. I also help him facilitate his research by previewing current literature on clinical hypnosis and physiological mechanisms of virtual reality,” she said.

Strauel took the lead on several projects during her internship. She created a website for Dr. Tallman’s pain support group to facilitate patient access to group materials and set up headsets within the hospital for a new program using therapeutic virtual reality that is in the works.

The senior has her eyes set on graduate school to pursue a PhD in health or counseling psychology, but she will need to choose between a clinical practice or research-based track. Thankfully, in addition to her internship with Dr. Tallman, she conducted research in a Coe lab with Associate Professor of Biology Paul Storer.

“My two experiences this summer provide me a realistic outlook on both areas and will make me a better, more informed applicant,” she said.

Strauel spent three full days in the lab on campus and split two days a week between the lab and hospital with mornings at UnityPoint Health - St. Luke’s.

“We used sterile cell culture and various drugs to activate glial cells’ immune systems, mimicking the body’s reaction during autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis and identify if specific immune system markers increase or decrease following estrogen dosage,” she said.

Her research on autoimmune disorder treatments with Dr. Storer will be presented at conferences this fall and potentially used for a future publication while her research with Dr. Tallman will be presented in Des Moines this fall.

“These opportunities are going to be valuable research and clinical experiences that will help guide me in identifying a graduate program that best suits my interests and future career.  I am learning so much already about healthcare, pain psychology, the immune system and research that will only help me as I continue my academic career,” she said. “I really enjoyed being in a collaborative lab environment for research this summer and the opportunity to work independently. I appreciate the autonomy I was given for both my internship and research.”

Strauel’s hard work speaks for itself and with her mentors and Dr. Tallman by her side, she will no doubt have success in any health psychology field. This is the power of Coe’s alumni network. It makes anything possible for fellow Kohawks.

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A Kohawk’s dream takes flight with a job at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll

Josh Conte '23 made the impossible possible. Law firm internships are already a challenge to find, but Conte managed to secure an internship...and a job. The aspiring corporate lawyer is starting a part-time role with Shuttleworth & Ingersoll as a full-time Coe student. A pinchful of perfect timing and a heavy dose of hard work led Conte to every law student’s dream.

After spotting an email from C3: Creativity, Careers, Community, Conte signed up for a resume building and professionalism class in the spring. The class instructor and C3 careers director, Nanci Young, told Conte about a newly available marketing internship at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll for the summer.

“I’m really glad I took that class and met Nanci. I thought the internship would be a great experience. It’s hard enough to get an internship at a law firm, let alone as an undergraduate. The fact that I was able to get my foot in the door and make these connections is big. Nanci has been a great help,” he said.

Conte tapped into his minor in communication studies by writing press releases, editing blog posts, coordinating social media, updating attorney profiles and managing the website.

“It's interesting because you get to see how these marketing strategies work in real life,” he said.

His can-do attitude impressed Shuttleworth & Ingersoll staff and attorneys alike. They altered the internship to be more law-focused for Conte and assigned special marketing projects. Coincidentally, the current marketing director announced their retirement and Conte was deemed the natural fit to take on a shared part-time role. He will be splitting marketing responsibilities with a current Shuttleworth & Ingersoll employee.

“It makes me feel good. I know I was doing a good job and they saw that and wanted to take me on as an employee because they see some potential in me. I’m really excited the internship led to a job and who knows what it'll lead to next. There’s several attorneys I met [at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll] who said they started as interns and it led to a clerkship which led to their job,” Conte said.

The mentors Conte has gained in the last few months are more than willing to take Conte under their wing after witnessing his hard work. Young, on the other hand, didn't stop with helping Conte secure an internship at the law firm. She also connected him to her daughter, a recent graduate from Emory University School of Law to help provide law school advice.

“I've made some good connections with the attorneys. If I didn't have this internship I wouldn't have had any experience at a law firm going into law school,” he said. “It's really helping me see what daily life would look like for me as a lawyer. I'm definitely on the right career path.”

This year, Conte is going to be juggling his new job with his business administration and managerial accounting double majors and the Birkey Investment Fund at Coe.

Conte is joining a group of hand-picked students to research and analyze Coe’s investments with guidance from his advisor, Retired Assistant Professor of Stead Department of Business Administration and Economics Kevin Trout and Roger & Mary Baxter Professor of Business Administration and World Affairs Pam Carstens. The Birkey Investment Fund provides students hands-on experience in finance, economics, business administration and accounting. Students will present a report of investment recommendations to the Board of Trustees in the spring.

As someone who’s followed the stock market since the ninth grade, Conte knows it will be a challenging but rewarding year taking on responsibilities that lead him one step closer to corporate law.

Conte is researching law schools and practicing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) fully aware of how these opportunities will set him apart from other applicants. Kohawks like Conte leave the nest with confidence and competitive resumes because of Coe resources like C3 and mentors like Young. In fact, for the past decade, reporting Coe graduates have been employed, in graduate school or involved in service opportunities nearly 100% of the time within nine months of graduation, while the latest national average is 83%. Whether it starts with an email, class, appointment or campus event, C3 supports students to be the best they can be.

“Definitely go to C3 and get involved anyway you can. If I wouldn’t have taken that class, I wouldn’t have met Nanci. She wouldn’t know what I was interested in and she wouldn’t know to reach out to me for the internship. And after you have your internship, really go above and beyond,” he said.

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Coe would like to give a special shout out to our alumni volunteers who served as virtual panelists and student mentors at the C3 Careers Community: Business & Entrepreneurism event in September. Thank you for supporting our students! 

Bibek Adhikari '11
Tracey Freiberg '07
Brian Karnik '06
Manisha Khadka '19
Kamal Lamsa '09
Hannah McQueen '14
Jake Smith '09
Anthony Worden '17
Trè Cotton '16
Trey Kellum '19

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Five Coe College students named 2021-2022 Clark Merit Scholars

The Clark Merit Scholars for the 2021-2022 academic year are Lila Dabill ’22, Natalie Hansen ’22, Zach Niemeyer ’22, Allyssa Roeker ’22 and Luke VanderSchaaff ’22. The Clark Merit Award provides a scholarship equal to one year's tuition. The recipients of this prestigious award demonstrate qualities of character, integrity, intellect, leadership and social responsibility. Clark Merit Scholars are chosen each year by a committee of faculty members and a member of the Board of Trustees.

“Congratulations to these outstanding winners! The Coe community is honored to have the opportunity to recognize exceptional student achievement from a talented pool of candidates,” said Coe Interim President David Hayes ’93.

Meet the Clark Merit Scholars:

• Lila, physics and mathematics — “I’m extremely grateful for this scholarship award and honored by the Clark Merit Committee’s faith in my abilities and future goals. This award will push me to work harder at making my voice heard in the male-dominated field of physics and to raise the voices of those around me.”
• Natalie, economics with minors in Spanish and data science — “I am so honored to receive this award alongside the other students selected, out of a very talented pool of applicants. The Clark Merit Scholarship will allow me to focus on my studies for my senior year while I explore options for graduate school or a career path post-graduation. I want to thank all of my professors, classmates and softball teammates for pushing me in my academics and extracurriculars and my family for being my biggest cheerleaders along the way.”
• Zach, biology and chemistry — “The award is a great honor and blessing. The Clark family’s ability to have continual impact on Coe College students is astounding, and for that I am grateful as I consider the possibilities of attending medical or graduate school. Thank you to the Clarks and to all my professors and mentors who have helped mold me into a fortunate recipient!”
• Ally, English, communication studies and writing — “Receiving this award is an incredible encouragement and motivational force, especially for someone who is in the humanities. Because the world often scoffs at English majors, being selected shows that my college supports and believes in what I do and study. It also pushes me to work even harder and make my community, my family and myself proud of what I’ve accomplished at Coe. I can keep my attention on preparing for my next big life transition and taking advantage of all my final year at Coe has to offer.”
• Luke, political science and philosophy with a minor in history — “I am honored to receive this award because it recognizes all my hard work in and out of the classroom over the past few years. It also makes my dream of graduate school and helping others through public policy more of a reality. I want to thank my friends, family and mentors for their guidance that helped make all of this possible.”

This year's selection committee members were Assistant Professor of Stead Department of Business Administration and Economics Chelsea Crain Lensing ’14, Associate Professor of Biology David Lo and Trustee Dr. David Gehring ’89.

The Clark Merit Awards are funded by an endowment created in 1995 by the late Coe alumnus K. Raymond Clark ’30. Clark's gratitude and loyalty to his alma mater were unequivocally and magnificently evidenced by his service as a member of Coe's Board of Trustees from 1966 until his death in 2005 and by his unparalleled record of personal giving to the institution. The Clark Racquet Center and Clark Field, Clark Alumni House, Contemporary Issues Forum and Clark Endowment for Merit Awards have significantly enhanced the Coe educational experience and greatly strengthened the institution.

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Important Dates and Upcoming Events

September 27–October 28 — Phonathon — Watch for a phone call from 319-399-8507 and have a conversation with one of our student callers who would love to talk to you about how you can support Coe!

October 21-24 — Homecoming: Home Sweet Coe — We missed seeing alumni on campus last year, so we are really looking forward to celebrating Homecoming this fall! Make plans to reconnect with your classmates and friends while reliving traditions and reminiscing about your years at Coe.

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