Coe News & Features

Tyler Salrin ’25 is Coe College's newest National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. The fellowship will cover financial costs for three years of Salrin’s five year graduate study, which he will begin this fall within a material science and engineering graduate program after a second summer internship with SpaceX.

A prominent Eastern Iowa businessman, philanthropist and Coe College alumnus, as well as an accomplished current student will address the Class of 2025 during Coe’s Commencement Sunday, May 4. Forest Brown ’90, president of Brown's Family of Dealerships, will address Kohawk graduates as Coe College’s 2025 Commencement guest speaker. Celestte Panduro Orellana ’25 will address her classmates as the student speaker.

Two Coe College students will be the first to engage in an enlightening diplomatic internship. The immersive learning experience, named the Global Pathways Program, is a collaboration between Coe and the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Des Moines, Iowa’s only foreign consulate. Supporting organizations include the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa National Guard and the Iowa International Center.

Kohawk Sangai Dukuly ’25 is packing her bags as she prepares to join the Peace Corps in Sri Lanka in September, where she will be stationed for 27 months teaching English.

Retired President & CEO of Mercy Medical Center, Tim Charles, is teaching Exploration in Health and Society this term. Charles is thrilled to be bringing his wealth of expertise and experience into the Coe classroom. He is the latest prominent local industry leader to bring their first-hand knowledge and connections straight to Kohawks.

Coe College Associate Professor of English and National Fellowship Advisor Dr. Amber Shaw has been named an Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Academic Leadership Fellow. Only 10 fellows were chosen, representing nine ACM institutions. Recipients of the fellowship are tenured faculty in the arts, humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Coe College’s Justice Learning Initiative will host its annual reentry simulation on Thursday, March 6, from 6:00-8:00 PM in rooms 218/219 of the Athletics & Recreation Complex (ARC) on the Coe campus. The public is invited, and there is no charge to attend.

We are proud to be partnering with a thriving airport for our aviation management and flight operations program. Kohawks at Coe’s aeronautical field station at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) will benefit from the bustling environment and all the associated hands-on opportunities, including a dedicated summer internship. The future of aviation is bright! Congratulations to our partners at CID!

Coe College held a heartfelt memorial event to honor the life and legacy of Dr. W. Kent “Doc” Herron, a beloved faculty member whose generosity continues to impact the institution. A major highlight of the event was the announcement of a remarkable gift — a nearly $4 million gift from Dr. Herron’s estate, which will endow a faculty chair and advance Coe’s academic mission through scholarships.

Coe College is the recipient of four grants through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) initiative. The grants are in conjunction with other ACM member colleges, and are meant to create original and valuable educational knowledge for faculty, staff and leaders across higher education.

Marty Lenss has a wealth of experience across the aviation spectrum, but he’s recently added another entry to his professional profile: professor. The airport director of the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) is teaching the first introduction to aviation course at Coe, as the college launches its aviation management and flight operations program.

Coe College is pleased to announce physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and investor Daniel Kraft, MD as the 2025 K. Raymond Clark Contemporary Issues Forum speaker. Kraft will be on Coe’s campus Tuesday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m., and his speaking engagement in Sinclair Auditorium is open to the public.

An awareness of health care disparities between urban and rural areas is driving a Coe College senior to take advantage of Coe’s 3+2 degree partnership program in public health. Hailey Meacham ’25 is a current Kohawk pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Health (MPH at the University of Iowa) dual degree, utilizing the expedited program which allows students to earn a bachelor's and MPH in just five years, compared to the usual six. Participating students are able to study the health care ecosystem deeply, but can enter the workforce earlier.

This summer, as Johnny Watson ’01 hustled through crowds near the Seine River in Paris during the Olympics, you probably never would have known he started his journey near a less bustling river, the Cedar. If he had time to reflect on how far he had come, it was probably only for a moment as he helped produce in-game entertainment for the basketball games of the 2024 Olympiad.

Coe College senior Katie Ameku is among 32 students from the United States selected as a Rhodes Scholar. The preeminent global academic award provides scholarships and travel expenses to study at the University of Oxford. Nearly 3,000 U.S. students applied to be Rhodes Scholars. Committees in 16 districts across the country selected 238 finalists for interviews.

Katie Ameku ’25 has been named a Rhodes Scholarship finalist. Rhodes Scholars receive up to three years of fully funded study at Oxford University in England, which includes a living stipend and transportation back and forth between the United States and the United Kingdom. Ameku will be interviewing for the scholarship November 15-16 in Chicago. She is Coe’s third finalist in the past eight years.

Coe College has joined 18 other private, nonprofit colleges and universities across the state of Iowa in approving the Iowa Private Transfer Guarantee admission agreement with Iowa community colleges. Through this agreement, students pursuing an associate degree at any Iowa community college are guaranteed admission to Coe, as well as the other member institutions of the Iowa Private Transfer Collaborative (IPTC).

The Prison Learning Initiative (PLI) at Coe College will host a Correcting the Narrative event on Thursday, November 14 at 7:00 PM in Kesler Auditorium on the first floor of Hickok Hall on Coe’s campus. It is free and open to the public. Correcting the Narrative is a public awareness, story-telling campaign that challenges common beliefs and misperceptions about people who have been involved in the criminal legal system.

Students interested in Coe College’s new aviation management & flight operations program can now pursue a guaranteed admission option for a seamless transition into their aviation education and career. Coe is introducing a direct entry program for Fall 2025 admitted students who plan to pursue flight school at the college, guaranteeing admission to those who meet specific criteria by December 1, 2024. The direct entry option at Coe is a new benefit for students interested in the aviation management and flight operations program.

Coe continues to reinforce its reputation as a college that helps its students achieve socioeconomic growth. For the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Coe as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility. The U.S. News & World Report rankings place Coe in the top 100 nationally for social mobility, and #2 in the state of Iowa. The methodology tracks enrollment and graduation figures of economically disadvantaged students.