2025 Year in Review at Coe

We kicked off the year with our first group visit of 2025 — Admitted Student Day! Future Kohawks explored what makes Coe special, from meeting with accessible professors to hearing directly from students about their Coe experience. 

Coe faculty were selected as recipients of four ACM FaCE grants designed to increase collaboration to enhance teaching and learning. Read more about these projects.

Daniel Kraft spoke at Coe College as the featured guest of the 21st annual Contemporary Issues Forum. Daniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard-trained doctor with over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation. Kraft frequently addresses the future of health, medicine and technology and has delivered four TED and two TEDMED Talks. He is the founder and board member of several Fortune 50 and digital health-related startups and is the inventor of the MarrowMiner, an FDA-approved device for the minimally invasive harvest of bone marrow. Also an avid pilot, Kraft has served in the Massachusetts and California Air National Guard as an officer and flight surgeon and was a finalist for astronaut selection with NASA.

We welcomed future aviators to our aeronautical field station for an aviation visit day. Prospective students experienced discovery flights, received a tour of the Eastern Iowa Airport and met professors, AFROTC Detachment 255 and Revv Aviation instructors. 

Coe welcomed visitors from the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo, Iowa National Guard, Iowa International Center and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. We celebrated a burgeoning partnership between Kosovo and Iowa, and discussed how Coe students can assist with international community engagement. Coe is working with the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo to develop a new diplomatic collaboration opportunity for Kohawks.

The Justice Learning Initiative's reentry simulation is an eye-opening educational experience. Attendees role-played scenarios recently incarcerated individuals experience upon release, which helps build awareness and understanding regarding the challenges they face.

The Spring 2025 edition of the Courier was released!

The Kohawk wrestling team finished in a tie for sixth at the NCAA DIII Championships, with four wrestlers earning All-American status — Bryce Parke (second), Brayden Parke (fifth), LJ Richardson (sixth) and Jared Voss (seventh) all were on the podium.

Track and field thrower Chris Baker earned a second team All-American honor in the weight throw competition at the national indoor meet!

After guiding Kohawks in their pursuit of national fellowships, Dr. Amber Shaw has earned her own prestigious academic fellowship. She has been named an Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Academic Leadership Fellow.

This year's Flunk Day was all about Dis-Coe Fever. Kohawks had a groovy time celebrating a day away from classes and the semester wrapping up.

We celebrated Coe’s 11th annual Day of Giving, our biggest fundraiser of the year!

Students displayed and discussed original research, performed compositions and read creative writings at the annual Student Research & Discovery Symposium. 

Current students imparted wisdom, tour guides handed out vibes and local restaurants provided literal taste of what it's like to live in Cedar Rapids for future Kohawks at our April Admitted Student Day,

During the Taste of Cedar Rapids event on campus, Kohawks got a literal taste of what some of the 100+ locally-owned restaurants in the city cook up.

The Class of 2025 rang the Victory Bell, walked the stage for Commencement and will now get to spread their wings and take flight into their next endeavors. Remember, once a Kohawk, always a Kohawk!

Tyler Salrin ’25 was Coe’s fifth National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the past five years. His story is one of faith, passion, dedication and opportunity.

Katherine Davis ’27 was Coe’s sixth Gilman scholar in the last five years. The scholarship will take Davis to Japan this fall, where they’ll seek out the best in every person. 

Coe participated in the Young Eagles Flight Rally, which helped local students explore aviation and even take a free test flight at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID).

Kohawks are taking to the air with ATD! Coe College has entered into an agreement with experienced flight training partner, ATD Flight Systems, to integrate their expertise into our aviation management and flight operations program. A beautiful combination!

Go online with Coe Online! Announcing our initial online degree — a Bachelor of Arts in business administration with a strategic leadership concentration. An affordable and flexible way for anyone to advance their careers! 

The Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) has established the Aviation Workforce Development Campus (AWDC) at CID, partnering with Coe College and Kirkwood Community College to provide essential education and training.

We met future Kohawk aviators in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at EAA AirVenture — the largest airshow in the world! It was the perfect place to continue spreading the word about our aviation management and flight operations program and the Aviation Workforce Development Campus at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID). 

We introduced our newest business administration concentration: risk management/insurance! This is an in-demand area of study projected to grow in the coming years.

Coe College announced the launch of a women's wrestling program that will begin competing at the NCAA level in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) in the fall of 2026. As interest in women’s wrestling continues to build, Kaleb Reeves ’23 will guide the newest Kohawk athletic team as its head coach. An All-American wrestler himself, Reeves brings an array of folkstyle, freestyle and Greco wrestling experience.

Another step closer to taking to the skies! Coe earned Part 141 ground approval from the FAA.

New and updated accolades from The Princeton Review lauded Coe as a Top 20 college in the nation across three crucial student support categories. Coe has the #11 Best Career Services, is #14 for Best Student Support and Counseling Services and has the #18 Most Accessible Professors. Coe was the only college or university in Iowa to earn a ranking in these categories.

Coe celebrated its first Athletic Day of Giving. 

Coe welcomed Tim Busch as its assistant chief instructor. Busch arrived to Coe with over 28 years of flight instruction and flight school experience. He is ready to help you become a pilot and prioritizes your safety and experience as a flight instructor.

Hundreds of new Coe College students moved to campus to start their college journey at Coe!

Games, movies, ice cream and campus exploration during New Student Orientation helped our new Kohawks make new friends fast.

Coe College continued to be recognized as a top liberal arts college in the country, performing particularly well in categories that relate to contributions to the public good.

The first Global Pathways internship opened a whole world of connections for Maria Bello ’26 and Davis Sharp ’26.

Coe signed an extension of our agreement with the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids to continue facilitating our educational and research collaboration.

Prospective students experienced the excitement and community spirit of Coe College’s Kohawk Kickoff Day! They met students and professors, toured campus, learned about specific majors and felt like a Kohawk for a day!

We welcomed our alumni back to campus for Homecoming 2025, where they got to participate in fun events, catch up with one another and watch great athletic competitions!

Fran Allison and Francis Halpin Professor of Physics Dr. Mario Affatigato ’89 was named president of the American Ceramic Society. 

Kohawk families came to campus to celebrate Family Weekend.

Four outstanding alumni — Tyler Thompson '09, Cari McCoy '08, Lauren Gilbertson '13 and Kyle Boardman '14 — were named to the Corridor Business Journal Forty Under 40 list.

Conrad Hoffman ’27, Ankita Kandel ’26, Lily Mayo ’26, Laura Neumark ’26 and Gracey Swanson ’26 were named 2025-2026 Clark Merit Scholars.

We welcomed admitted students to campus to learn more about life as a Kohawk!

Future pilots and aviation professionals explored the aviation management and flight operations program at Coe College during an exclusive Aviation Visit Day. With Coe’s aeronautical field station at the Eastern Iowa Airport as a backdrop, students heard from faculty and admission staff and took a behind-the-scenes tour of the thriving airport! 

The Kohawk football team was back in the NCAA playoffs for the third straight year. 

The Kohawk volleyball team was in the NCAA playoffs after winning the A-R-C conference tournament.

On Thursday, November 20, 2025, we invited our entire Coe community and supporters to come together to weave a stronger Coe.

The Fall 2025 version of the Courier was published.

Coe College President David Hayes ’93 has been appointed to the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council. Coe is known across the state for innovation and excellence in STEM fields. 
 

Walker Law ’27 traveled to Sonoita, Arizona, to get the MACRO Consortium telescope up and running for the season and contributed to the consortium’s first peer-reviewed paper.

Coe secured a $1.3 million grant from the Department of Energy to develop next-gen particle physics instrumentation. Coe's Dr. James Wetzel, associate professor of physics, will lead the research collaboration as its principal investigator, and student involvement will be key. Kohawks could travel to CERN in Switzerland or Los Alamos in New Mexico to test the technology. 

We wished our Kohawks a happy holidays as they headed home for winter break. We're excited to see them back for the spring term!