Coe News & Features

Professional writing students working with Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Director of the Writing Center Dr. Jane Nesmith engaged in a community-based project with CSPS, a Cedar Rapids nonprofit arts venue and community organization located in the NewBo neighborhood. The project goal was to assist CSPS reach and attract more college students to its music, theater and art events.

For the fifth time in seven years, Coe College has been named to The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges, a list of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges. Coe’s dedication to reducing its carbon footprint and increasing options for students to engage in sustainability earned the college a spot on the list.

For Coe College students undertaking the process of applying to a rigorous national fellowship program, Associate Professor of English & National Fellowship Advisor Amber Shaw is always there. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she works one-on-one with students to create the strongest possible application for the prestigious fellowships they’re pursuing. Coe has a history of national fellowship winners, and in the past five years, Shaw has helped Coe students become Fulbright Scholars, Truman Scholars and Gilman recipients.

Coe's greenhouse complements the conservation efforts already in place by reducing carbon, plastic packaging and pesticide usage as produce like lettuce, microgreens, tomatoes and peppers can be organically grown year-round. The greenhouse will also provide opportunities for student engagement as part of Coe’s urban field station, acting as a living lab for students.

Coe College will host an ArtLinks event on Wednesday, November 29 in the Athletic & Recreation Complex (ARC) classrooms 218-219. It is free and open to the public. Registration is available here, but not required. Walks-in are welcome. At an ArtLinks gathering, participants view a selection of works by incarcerated artists and discuss them with other attendees. They then may choose to write short notes to one or more of the artists describing their responses to their artwork.

Two Kohawk alumni have started a podcast, "Be Significant," to share their professional triumphs, leadership experiences and connections.

Coe College Athletics has unveiled new supplemental athletic branding featuring the tagline “Fly Fast. Fly Fierce. Talons Out!” as well as a secondary athletic graphic.

Students at Coe College will receive advanced insights into the day-to-day demands of their chosen industry with the implementation of an industry-leading experiential learning platform as part of the course curriculum. The learning platform, Riipen, will integrate real-world, employer-designed projects into existing courses to equip students with skills, applicable experiences and professional connections to support their future careers.

Coe has once again been recognized for the long-lasting positive impact it has on Kohawks after graduation. For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Coe as one of the Top Performers on Social Mobility. Coe earned the No. 67 liberal arts college ranking in the nation for helping students elevate their socioeconomic status.

For decades, the Coe College Marquis Series has brought engaging entertainers and lecturers to the Cedar Rapids community, including nationally recognized musicians, speakers and performers. This year’s lineup is no exception, and Coe is thrilled to continue to welcome the Cedar Rapids community to attend and enjoy. You won’t want to miss this year’s guests!

For the third year in a row, Coe College is a top 100 liberal arts college in the nation as determined by contributions to the public good. Washington Monthly compiled the list of top colleges and ranked Coe at No. 90, which is in the top 7 percent of colleges evaluated.

Coe College is excited to invite local community members to participate in Thursday Forum, a weekly series in which Coe faculty share their expertise on a variety of topics of interest. Coe has been presenting this initiative to the community for over 30 years. This year, our series begins with insights on the Russia-Ukraine War, examines philosophy in filmmaking and ends with a series to make complex physics more approachable.

Coe College will welcome one of the largest and most geographically diverse incoming classes in its 173-year history. With 436 new students indicating they are planning to enroll, the incoming class projects to be the third-largest class to ever enroll at the college. The incoming class represents 26 states, 27 countries and includes 53 international students, the most ever for a single incoming class. Among the class, 59% plan to join one of Coe’s 22 Division III athletic teams as student-athletes, also the highest number ever for a single class.

Coe College is top ten in the nation — and the only college or university ranked in Iowa — for Most Accessible Professors (No. 7 nationally) and Best Career Services (No. 8 nationally). The rankings were announced Tuesday by The Princeton Review as part of the publication’s annual review of the best colleges and universities across the country. Once again, Coe is recommended as one of the “Best 389 Colleges and Universities” by The Princeton Review.

It certainly seems like Faith Webb ’25 has always been on a path to spend time traveling the globe. She’s confident and adventurous. She knows about assimilating into a different country. She’s kept a diverse group of friends and has always held a strong interest in global cultures. If there was ever any doubt about her wandering the world, a Gilman award has erased it. Webb earned a highly competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship sponsored by the United States Department of State toward the end of Spring Term. The scholarship enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, and Webb has chosen to travel to South Korea in the fall of 2023.

After a national search, Coe College President David Hayes ’93 has appointed Mary Kathleen (Kayt) Conrad as Coe’s vice president of finance and administration. In this role, Conrad will join the college’s senior leadership team and be responsible for finances, business affairs, human resources, compliance, campus security and sustainability and other related duties.

Coe College is one of 17 recipients of a three-year grant to ensure transferring from a community college to a private college or university in Iowa will be transparent, cost-effective, and coordinated. The $350,000 grant was awarded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and Teagle Foundation to the Iowa Private Transfer Collaborative (IPTC), a consortium of 17 Iowa nonprofit colleges and universities and two nonprofit organizations focused on Iowa higher education.

Nine Kohawk rhetoric students had their work published this past year.

Coe College joined 200 colleges and universities in the Campus Race to Zero Waste challenge with the National Wildlife Federation...and won second place for per capita recycling among small colleges!

A Coe College faculty member will be recognized with a national nursing award. The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) named Sharon Guthrie as the recipient of the organization's 2023 Distinguished Service Award.