The four directors now regarded as giants of Hollywood’s so-called “Golden Age” are Frank Capra, George Cukor, John Ford and Howard Hawks. Theatre Professor Steven Marc Weiss will assess the output of each of these important directors with regard to both form and content. Each established his own distinctive version of classical style, and each also contributed (for better or worse) to the myths about American life so effectively promulgated by the Hollywood system.

Beginning April 4, short sequences from the films of these directors will be screened during in-class discussions in order to assess the extent of their contributions to the overall development of Hollywood cinema as an art form. Additionally, special full-length screenings – one film per director – will be scheduled outside of the forum classroom on Sunday afternoons throughout the month.

Thursday Forum lectures are held in Kesler Lecture Hall in Hickok Hall on the Coe campus. Each session begins with coffee and pastries from 8:45-9:15 a.m., followed by the class until 11:30 a.m. A luncheon is offered at the conclusion of each series.

The courses are open to all adults. The cost is $30 for a four-week course paid on the first day, or $12 per week. The closing luncheons cost an additional $8. Thursday Forum gift certificates are available. For more information about the Coe College Thursday Forum lecture series, call (319) 399-8619.

For more than 40 years, Notley has been a major groundbreaking voice in American poetry. She has published over 30 books of poetry, including her most recent works “Culture of One” and “Songs and Stories of the Ghouls.” With her sons Anselm and Edmund Berrigan, she edited the works of her late husband, “The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan” and “The Selected Poems of Ted Berrigan.”

Notley has been recognized with many prizes and awards including the Academy of American Poets’ Lenore Marshall Prize, the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Award, the Griffin Prize, two NEA Grants, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Poetry. Notley received her bachelor’s degree from from Barnard College in 1967, and earned an MFA from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1969. She currently lives and writes in Paris.

According to Joel Brouwer in the New York Times, the “radical freshness” of Notley’s poems “stems not from what they talk about, but how they talk, in a stream-of-consciousness style that both describes and dramatizes the movement of the poet’s restless mind, leaping associatively from one idea or sound to the next without any irritable reaching after reason or plot.”

Notley is coming to Coe to give this year’s Paul Engle Poetry Reading, in honor of the late Paul Engle, Cedar Rapids native, Coe College graduate and longtime director of the famed Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.

For more information, visit coe.edu or call 399-8581.

Erickson will also be in residency at Coe the week of March 25 to work with students in playwriting classes.

A new play, “Honor Student” takes place on a college campus and explores the tension between a playwriting instructor and one of her best students, who writes a play that could be considered an act of harassment or terrorism. And yet, the student is simply using freedom of expression to push the boundaries of the art form. Or is he? Erickson has matched teacher against student in an intriguing power play that pits reality against fiction.

Those involved in the reading include Coe alumna Katie Becker, current students Connor Swanson and Kelci de Haas, local actress Marty Norton, guest artist Ezra Colon, and director Steven Marc Weiss, associate professor of theatre arts at Coe.

A graduate of the MFA Theater Program at the University of California, San Diego, Erickson teaches playwriting and dramatic literature at Webster University in St. Louis. His plays have been produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Dance Theatre Workshop and Via Theatre in New York; A Director’s Theater in Los Angeles; the Empty Space Theatre, Pioneer Square Theatre and the Floating Theatre in Seattle; Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis; the Cleveland Public Theatre; and the Imaginary Theater Co. (St. Louis Repertory). His collaboration with Malashock Dance & Co., “Apologies from the Lower Decks,” toured the country and was produced on PBS. His work has won several awards, including a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Playwriting, a California Arts Council Award and the Mobil Playwriting Competition International Prize (Royal Exchange Theatre, England). He was Playwright-in-Residence at the Tennessee Repertory Theatre in Nashville for the 2011-2012 season, where he developed “Honor Student.” A recent play, “Alien Hand Syndrome,” was produced at MadLab Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, and Moving Arts Theatre, Los Angeles, and was published in Regional Best 2011, an anthology of new plays.

For more information, call 399-8581.

Among the 23 events featured at this year’s Science Olympiad are meteorology, astronomy, robotics, physics, technical problem solving, chemistry, biology, ecology, forensics, GPS studies, engineering and forestry. Faculty members from Coe College, the University of Iowa and Mount Mercy University, along with employees from Rockwell Collins, John Deere, Schneider Electric and KGAN, will be offering their expertise as they judge various projects and events.

Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing male, female and minority interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. The state director for the Iowa Science Olympiad is Susan Noreuil, science teaching associate at Coe.

The culmination of more than 240 regional and state tournaments is the Science Olympiad National Tournament, held at a different university each year. This year’s national event will be held at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, in May. At that time, the nation’s most competitive Science Olympiad 15-member teams will compete in dozens of events spanning the sciences, from chemistry, biology and physics to engineering, robotics and astronomy.

For more information, call 399-8524.

During his presentation, Freidenreich will discuss the evolving role of food practices in shaping identity and interfaith relations based on his book “Foreigners and their Food: Constructing Otherness in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Law.” In the book, Freidenreich explores how Jews, Christians and Muslims conceptualize “us” and “them” through rules about the preparation of food by adherents of other religions and the act of eating with such outsiders. The author analyzes the significance of food to religious formation, elucidating the ways ancient and medieval scholars use food restrictions to think about the “other.”

Freidenreich illuminates the subtly different ways Jews, Christians and Muslims perceive themselves, and he demonstrates how these distinctive self-conceptions shape ideas about religious foreigners and communal boundaries. His work, the first to analyze change over time across the legal literatures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, makes path-breaking contributions to the history of interreligious intolerance and to the comparative study of religion.

“Foreigners and their Food” was the winner of the 2012 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion (in the Textual Studies category) from the American Academy of Religion.

Freidenreich serves as the Pulver Family Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he teaches a wide range of courses on Judaism, Jewish history and comparative religion. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, he earned his Ph.D. in religion at Columbia University and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. His research and writings explore attitudes toward adherents of foreign religions, primarily as these attitudes are expressed in ancient and medieval religious law and secondarily as manifest in the history of Maine’s Jewish communities.

For more information, call 399-8581 or visit coe.edu.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. Reserved seating is available by calling the Coe College Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the event.

The artistry and musical intelligence of Biss has resulted in The New Yorker describing him as playing with “unerring sophistication.” He has gained international recognition for his orchestral, recital and chamber music performances and award-winning recordings. His performances show a repertoire of diverse range, from Mozart and Beethoven through the Romantics to works by contemporary composers.

Biss made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, and since has performed with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. He frequently performs at leading international music festivals and gives recitals in major music capitals both at home and abroad.

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920. The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community.

For more information, go to www.coe.edu or call 399-8600.

At Coe, the concert will feature works by David Gompper, Louis Karchin and Irina Dubkova, as well as newly composed works by Ensemble: Périphérie’s artistic directors, Coe Music Professor Joseph Dangerfield and Luke Dahn. Giacinto Scelsi’s riveting “Dharana” for cello and double bass will round out the program.

The mission of Ensemble: Périphérie (EP) is to promote contemporary music by presenting stimulating and inspiring concerts of new chamber works, by commissioning new works from both emerging and established composers, and by inviting audiences to join the group in recognizing great art of our time. Established in 2010 by composers Joseph Dangerfield and Luke Dahn, EP consists of a core group of performing artists in the Midwestern region. One of the primary goals of EP is to bring greater exposure to composers and works that are underperformed and neglected – that is, music that lies on the periphery.

Members of the advisory board are David Gompper, Robert Platz and Glenn Watkins.

For more information and program details, visit the Ensemble: Périphérie website at www.ensembleperipherie.com or contact the Coe Music Department at 399-8521.

Brigham is the Shirley Ecker Boskey Professor of History and International Relations at Vassar College. He is the author of many books and essays on the Vietnam War, and he is regularly called upon by the national media to provide his expertise on American foreign relations. Brigham’s scholarship has also included working with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in developing a “critical oral history” of the Vietnam War through meetings with high-level political and military leaders from all sides of that conflict.

Brigham’s publications include “Guerilla Diplomacy: The NLF’s Foreign Relations and the Vietnam War” (1998); “Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy,” written with former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and James G. Blight of Brown University (1999); “ARVN: Life and Death in the South Vietnamese Army” (2006); “Is Iraq Another Vietnam?” (2006); “Iraq, Vietnam, and the Limits of American Power” (2008); “America and Iraq since 1990” (2012); “The Global Ho Chi Minh” (2013); and “The Wars for Vietnam,” written with Mark Bradley and Lien-Hang Nguyen (publication forthcoming). He is currently at work on a monograph of the Clinton administration’s search for a new liberal world order following the Cold War.

Brigham has served on the editorial advisory board of Passport and Diplomatic History, the scholarly journals of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and Eyes on the I.C.C, the only scholarly journal devoted to the study of the International Criminal Court. Brigham has also been the special guest editor of the Organization of American Historians’ Magazine of History.

A regular public lecturer, Brigham has provided interviews and written some 200 reviews and op-ed pieces for publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, The Bangkok Post, Deutsche Welle (Germany), El Mercurio (Chile), Vietnam News, The Standard (Hong Kong), South China Morning Post, Asia Times, and The Independent (London). He has also appeared on National Public Radio, “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” the British Broadcasting Company, CBS Radio, the Australian Broadcasting Company, Talk Radio (Dublin); RTE (Ireland); NHK (Japan), and CNN. In 2009, the United Nations named Brigham one of its “Global Experts on International Relations.”

The presentation is sponsored by the Coe College Department of History. For more information, call 399-8581 or visit coe.edu.

At Coe, Williams will discuss her experience dealing with “Black Pain.” This is an emotional pain that uniquely and profoundly affects the Black experience as the root of lashing out through desperate acts of crime, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, workaholism, and addiction to shopping, gambling and sex.
She is a licensed clinical social worker and founder of The Terrie Williams Agency, which is one of the country’s most successful African-American public relations and communications firms. The agency has worked with some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment and politics. Through her Stay Strong Foundation, Williams launched the national mental health advocacy campaign “Healing Starts With Us.”

Williams has been recognized by numerous awards including The New York Women in Communications Matrix Award in Public Relations. She was the first woman of color to receive this award in its 70-year history. In addition, Williams was The Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine’s 2006 Eagle Fly Free Award recipient for her work as a depression survivor.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Brandeis University, Williams earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University.

For more information, call 399-8581 or visit coe.edu.

The event is open to the public and tickets are $10, free for children 12 and under. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available by calling the Coe Box Office at 399-8600, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

This year’s buffet-style banquet features foods from various countries including Korea, China, Kenya, Japan, Nepal, France, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Dishes such as oshiruko, sambusa, quinoa, bulgogi, chicken curry, grilled prawns, pork ribs, crepes, mango lassi and much more will be served.

In keeping with long-standing tradition, Coe international students will don costumes and serve from a buffet line reflecting their nationalities. A brief program featuring the students will follow the dinner.

For more information, call 399-8600.

Tickets to the concert are available at the door or by calling the Coe Box Office at 319-399-8600 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Prices are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors.

The Grand Finale concert is the climax of a three-day jazz festival and seminar, held Feb. 21 – 23. Events held annually include concerts, workshops and a jazz band competition with awards. In its 22nd year, this festival has grown to include more than 2,000 musicians from across the Midwest.

Along with the guest artists, the concert will feature the Coe College Jazz Ensemble, directed by Coe Assistant Professor of Music Steve Shanley.

A trombonist, guest artist Michael B. Nelson will be featured with the Coe Jazz Ensemble on the Stan Keaton classics “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and “Frank Speaking.” He will also perform Carl Fontana’s version of “Emily” and the Thelonious Monk classic “Just You, Just Me.”

Guest keyboardist Mark Maegdlin will be featured on the Ray Charles version of “One Mind Julep” and Jimmy Smith’s “Back at the Chicken Shack.” He and the Coe Jazz Ensemble are also performing the world premiere of “I’homme avec I’chapeau noir,” written by University of Northern Iowa Professor of Music Jon Schwabe. Other numbers to be performed include “Big Swing Face” by Buddy Rich.

Jazz Summit
Held annually the last weekend in February, the Jazz Summit features appearances by leading jazz musicians. The Jazz Summit was founded in 1992 and continues a tradition of jazz festivals at Coe College that stretches back to the 1970s. The festival has grown from an afternoon event with an evening concert to a three-day festival encompassing clinics, workshops, jam sessions, a jazz band competition, an awards ceremony, and the Grand Finale concert featuring the jazz ensemble from Coe and performances by the guest artists.

Jazz Summit 2013 is sponsored by the Coe College Music Department, Friends of Music at Coe and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. The Jazz Summit administrator is Coe College Music Professor William Carson.

For more information, call 319-399-8600.

Additional information about the 2013 Jazz Summit guest artists is as follows:

Guest artist Michael B. Nelson
Michael B. Nelson has distinguished himself as the leader, composer, arranger and trombonist for the internationally acclaimed, five-piece a cappella jazz horn group, the Hornheads.
From 1991-2001, Nelson and the Hornheads recorded and toured worldwide with Prince, performing for over two million concert goers. Nelson recorded and arranged horns for 20 CDs with Prince and associated Paisley Park artists, and co-wrote “Billy Jack Bitch” on Prince’s Grammy-nominated “The Gold Experience” CD. In 1996, Nelson received a McKnight Composers Fellowship through the American Composers Forum.

As a top call studio musician, he has appeared on over 100 CDs, with producer, composer, arranger and performer credits on three Hornheads solo releases and 10 Compass Records CDs for the Target retail chain. Nelson has performed and/or recorded with Chaka Khan, Doc Severinsen, Lenny Kravitz, The Jonas Brothers, Sammy Davis Jr., Mandy Moore, Jimmy Jam, Johnny Mathis, Honor Society, Larry Graham, Ben Sidran, Jordan Pruitt, Babyface, Maceo Parker and many other artists. He has also worked on many commercial projects for companies such as Target, BMW, Holiday Inn, Macys, ABC, Minnesota Twins, Best Buy, General Mills, Hormel, Donatos, Long John Silver and Redline Entertainment.

Guest artist Mark Maegdlin
Mark Maegdlin is a jazz pianist, organist, producer and music educator who holds degrees from Eastern Illinois University, William Paterson College of New Jersey, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music / Marquette University. Maegdlin has studied with Harold Mayburn, Norman Simmons, Jim McNeely, Mike Balter, Rufus Reid, Dave Samuels, David Hazeline and Manty Ellis. He has earned performance awards from Downbeat Magazine, Notre Dame University, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, Augusta College, Eastern Illinois University and Illinois Wesleyan University.

In 1989, Maegdlin was selected to compete at the Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition in Paris. During his career as a freelance jazz pianist, Mark has performed in the New York City area, Milwaukee, Chicago, throughout central Illinois and in Charleston, South Carolina. He has performed with such world renowned artists as Clark Terry, Rufus Reid, David Baker, Lee Konitz, Lew Soloff, Michel Legrand, Nndugu Chancelor, Freddie Waits, Carl Allen, Marvin Stamm, Shelia Jordan and Nick Brignolia.

Recently, Maegdlin has been expanded his talents to include performances on organ with “The Organisms” Jazz/Funk Organ Trio. He has produced several CDs, including “Mirage” – Mark O’Connor (BluJazz 3309) and “Chicago Jazz Vol. 1” – Eric Allen and the Mood Swing Music Quartet. As a teacher, Maegdlin has taught at Eastern Illinois University (1989-1990, 1995-1998) where he was a graduate assistant and later a faculty member. Currently, Maegdlin currently teaches elementary music in Illinois Consolidated School District U-46.

In her lecture, Pressman will share her work on literature and how the digital age has changed the future of it. Her book, “Digital Modernism: Making it in the New Media,” describes how changes in technology are shaping the ways in which we read, study and engage with print and electronic literature.

Currently, Pressman researches and teaches 20th and 21st century experimental American literature, digital literature and media theory. She is a Fellow with the American Council of Learned Societies and a Visiting Scholar in the Literature Department at the University of California – San Diego. She has served as assistant professor of English at Yale University and received her Ph.D. in English from UCLA in 2007.

Pressman has earned awards for her work as an educator and writer. She received the Sarai Ribicoff Teaching Excellence Award from Yale College in 2010. More recently, she earned the Morse Fellowship Research Sabbatical from Yale University to complete research on her second book.

The author’s other works include “Close Reading Electronic Literature, a Collaborative Case Study of William Poundstone’s ‘Project for the Tachistoscope: [Bottomless Pit],’” co-written with Mark C. Marino and Jeremy Douglass, and “New Paradigms for the Humanities: Comparative Textual Medium,” co-edited with N. Katherine Hayles. Pressman is currently working on a manuscript that examines the fetishization of the book object in 21st century print and digital literary culture.

Pressman is articles editor for “Digital Humanities Quarterly,” president of the MLA Media & Literature Executive Committee, a member of the board of directors at the Electronic Literature Organization, and a board member for the online journal of digital art Dichtung-Digital.

For more information, call 399-8581 or visit coe.edu.

The artwork will be on display in the Marvin Cone and Eaton-Buchan Galleries of Sinclair Auditorium, with an opening reception in the Sinclair lobby on Friday, Feb. 15 from 5 – 7 p.m. Both the reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are 4 – 6 p.m. daily from Feb. 16 through March 1 and again from March 11 – 17. (The exhibit is closed during Coe’s spring break, from March 2 – 10.)

A special gallery talk will be presented by juror Kathy Caraccio on Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. during the opening reception. Caraccio resides in New York City, where she is an active printmaker, gallery owner and instructor for Coe College’s New York Term.

For more information on the exhibit, call 319-399-8581.

Cutlines:
1. Sandra Cordero, Biomass 1, Woodcut, 11”x9”, unframed, uneditioned, 2011
2. Ellie Honl, Out on a Limb, Screenprint, collage, wood, sewing, 18”x 25.5”, 2010

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. Reserved seating is available by calling the Coe College Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the event.

Originally from Australia and now residing in Los Angeles, Wertheim’s work includes extensive texts about science for magazines, television and radio. In addition to these works, she is the author of two books: “Pythagoras’ Trousers,” a history of the relationship between physics, religion and women, and “The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace,” a cultural history of space from Dante to the Internet. Aside from writing, Wertheim frequently lectures across the globe about science and society, and science and religion.

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920. The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community.

For more information, go to www.coe.edu or call 399-8600.

Limited reserved seating is available by calling the Coe Box Office at 319-399-8600 from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

Best known for writing “The Satanic Verses,” Rushdie’s novels include “The Moor’s Last Sigh,” “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” and “The Enchantress of Florence.” For his masterwork of magic realism, “Midnight’s Children,” he won the prestigious Booker Prize, and later, the Best of the Booker. His memoir “Joseph Anton” was published in September 2012. Rushdie was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of “2012’s Top 100 Global Thinkers.”

An eclectic writer and noted public intellectual, Rushdie has won many of the world’s top literary prizes. He has published a heralded collection of essays, “Step Across the Line,” written a book on “The Wizard of Oz,” and served for two years as president of The PEN American Center, the world’s oldest human rights organization. Rushdie’s “Luka and the Fire of Life” is a children’s novel and a companion to “Haroun and the Sea of Stories.”

In his lectures, Rushdie braids together the worlds of literature, politics and philosophy in a show of intellectual pyrotechnics and deadpan humor that conveys fully the texture of modern life. He speaks about the major themes coursing through his writing, his life and our world: freedom of expression, religion, pop culture, current events at home and abroad, East-West relations, and the role of the artist to shape our understanding of the world. For those more interested in his writing, he touches on storytelling, the magical realism he made famous, and the unique sensibility of his self-proclaimed “globe-swallowing, capricious books.”

Established by the late K. Raymond Clark ’30, the Contemporary Issues Forum presents the views of distinguished leaders whose work has shaped and altered the course of world events. The forum has featured former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, former Poland President Lech Walesa, deep-sea oceanographer Robert Ballard, civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau, ecology expert Jared Diamond, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts.

The opening of the exhibit and a reception for the young artists and their families will take place in the Sinclair lobby on Friday, Jan. 18, from 5 – 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend free of charge and refreshments will be served. Regular gallery hours are 4 – 6 p.m. daily beginning on Saturday, Jan. 19, and admission is free. For more information call 399-8581.

In its 25th year, “Third Grade Clay” provides young artists with the opportunity to show three-dimensional work in a professional environment. Generally, the young artists from each elementary craft an individual piece of clay in conjunction with the theme selected by the school, yielding nearly two dozen creative displays.

The program was initially organized by Coe Art Professor John Beckelman to give young students an outlet to display their three-dimensional work. While elementary schools typically have lots of wall space to display paintings and drawings, Beckelman says it’s more challenging for elementary school art teachers to find places to showcase clay creations. In the mid-1980s, Beckelman and local elementary art instructors began a dialogue about creating a show at Coe, and the third grade level was believed to be ideal for the young artists to display their work. As a result, the “Third Grade Clay” art show was created and has become a community tradition.

Coe Gallery Director and Instructor of Art Jennifer Rogers coordinates the event. Rogers says that thanks to the talented youngsters and their art teachers, “Third Grade Clay” has become one of the most popular art shows held at the college each year.

During the award presentation, it was noted that Feller “has been both an exemplary researcher in the area of glass physics and an extraordinary mentor of young scientists at Coe College, directing both his own research group as well as the college Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, and has been an inspirational leader for its Society of Physics (SPS) Chapter, recognized as the Outstanding Chapter Advisor nationally in 2000, serving two terms as SPS Zone 11 Councilor, providing leadership for SPS’s program to study the effectiveness of the Undergraduate Research Experience in Physics, serving two terms as Sigma Pi Sigma President, and having led the planning for both the 2008 and 2012 Sigma Pi Sigma Congresses, to great acclaim. In every way, he has served the Physics Community, Sigma Pi Sigma, and the Society of Physics Students with distinction.”

Professor Feller earned his Ph.D. at Brown University and has taught at Coe since 1979. His research in physics centers on the atomic structure and physical properties of glass. Working with Coe Physics Professor Mario Affatigato and more than 200 student colleagues, he has published nearly 140 papers in the refereed literature of the field. Also, Feller has edited a number of books on glass science. He and his students have given more than 200 presentations at well over 100 national and international conferences.

Since 1983, Feller and his colleagues have garnered more than $7 million from a large number of foundations, including the National Science Foundation, to support physics research at Coe. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being named as a Fulbright Scholar, a Distinguished Iowa Scientist by the Iowa Academy of Sciences, and the Iowa Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation. He is an active member in several professional associations, including The American Ceramic Society, the American Physical Society and the Society of Glass Technology in the United Kingdom. He is a past national president of Sigma Pi Sigma.
Professor Feller also has a research-level interest in numismatics, the study of the history of money. In this area, he has published over 50 articles, parts of several books, and in 2007 he co-authored (with his daughter, Ray) “Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of World War II,”¬¬ now the standard in the field.

About the Worth Seagondollar Award
The Worth Seagondollar Award recognizes levels of service and commitment to Sigma Pi Sigma and the Society of Physics Students. Awardees are determined by unanimous vote of the Executive Committee of the SPS National Council. The award was first presented to its namesake, Worth Seagondollar, North Carolina State University, at the 1996 Congress of Sigma Pi Sigma, held in Atlanta. The quadrennial congresses have served as appropriate venues to make subsequent award presentations, including George Miner, University of Dayton, in 2000; Peggy Dixon (posthumously), Montgomery College, Md., in 2004; Karen Williams, East Central ¬¬ University, Okla., in 2008; and most recently, Steve Feller, Coe College in 2012.
Worth Seagondollar was a member of the Manhattan Project, the first scientist to measure the critical mass of plutonium, and was present at the Trinity Test. He was a very successful SPS chapter advisor at both the University of Kansas and North Carolina State University, and was a leading nuclear physicist. As Sigma Pi Sigma president, Seagondollar played a central role in the merger of the American Institute of Physics Student Sections and Sigma Pi Sigma that created the Society of Physics Students. Selected also as a Fellow of the American Physical Society, he was an active member of numerous professional organizations, and is now a professor emeritus at North Carolina State University.

“Few faculty members are willing to make the great commitment of time and energy that a successful chapter requires,” said ACS President Bassam Shakhashiri. “Professor St. Clair’s efforts certainly represent the best in undergraduate science education and mentoring around the country. We extend our warmest congratulations to the students and Professor St. Clair for setting such a fine example for other chapters and being exemplary chemistry ambassadors.”

In all, the Society Committee on Education of the ACS presented 46 outstanding, 81 commendable and 114 honorable mention awards. Lists of award-winning chapters are being published in Chemical & Engineering News and in the November/December issue of inChemistry. The award-winning chapters will also be honored at the 245th ASC National Meeting in New Orleans on April 7, 2013.

With more than 164,000 members, the American Chemical Society (ACS) is the world’s largest scientific society and one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative scientific information. A nonprofit organization chartered by Congress, ACS is at the forefront of the evolving worldwide chemical enterprise and the premier professional home for chemists, chemical engineers and related professions around the globe.

The Coe Chorale, directed by Fred Kiser, will perform traditional anthems during the services. New this year will be music performed by the Coe College Handbell Ensemble, directed by Brett Wolgast. Many Coe students will be featured with vocal and instrumental solos. The services follow the grand British Lessons and Carols tradition and are patterned after that of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England. In the services, hymns and carols are used in place of psalms and canticles. Through the message of the scriptures and verses of the carols and anthems, participants are given a beautiful perspective on the meaning of the Christmas season.

Both the Christmas Convocation and the Christmas Vespers will include the story of Jesus’ birth presented in lessons read throughout the presentation by Coe College Chaplain Kristin Hutson, as well as students, faculty and staff members. Audience members will be invited to join in singing several of the Christmas hymns and carols, including the traditional favorites “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “Angels We Have Heard On High,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night.”

Music to be performed includes “African Noel” by Victor Johnson, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Burning” arranged by Russell Robinson, “Tidings of Joy” arranged by Lloyd Larson, and “Go Where I Send Thee!” arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory. Other pieces to be performed include “The Wexford Carol” arranged by Ruth Ellen Schram, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” arranged by Harry Simeone, and “Ave Maria” by Andrea Gabrieli.

The Coe College Music Department and Office of the Chaplain are co-sponsoring the services. For more information, please call 399-8581.

Under the direction of Coe Artist/Teacher in Music Dr. Todd Schendel, the concert will feature works from Franz Schubert, Jacob Handl, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and Pat Ballard, as well as various jazz selections.

Founded in 2011, the group is comprised of Coe students and advanced high school musicians from area schools.

For more information, call 399-8521.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or by calling the Coe College Box Office at 399-8600, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Iphigenia at Aulis” is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, presented in a contemporary English translation by Elaine Terranova, and directed by Coe Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Steven Marc Weiss.

While stranded with his troops at the port of Aulis, King Agamemnon of Argos faces the toughest decision of his life: should he or should he not yield to the goddess Artemis’ directive that he willingly sacrifice his eldest daughter as the only apparent means of starting the war against Troy. At its heartfelt, poignant core, this “family drama” about the conflicting demands of kinship versus society-at-large is as accessible today as it presumably was when first presented more than 2,500 years ago.

“The play’s action is beautifully structured around an ever-escalating series of missteps, as the principal characters repeatedly alter their positions, changing their minds repeatedly about decisions they’ve already made or about how to deal with or respond to decisions others have made for them,” said Weiss in his director’s comments. “So far from undermining an audience’s empathetic response to these vacillating attitudes, I believe that the very indecisiveness of these characters, who are caught in a double bind from which they cannot advantageously disentangle themselves, renders them all-too human and, ultimately, deserving of our compassion.”

For more information, call 319-399-8600 or visit theatre.coe.edu.

Cutline: Iphigenia (Katty Perrell ’15, center) pleads with her father, King Agamemnon (Josue Sanchez-Lopez ’16, left), to spare her life, as her mother, Clytemnestra (Courtney Marti ’14, right) looks on in the upcoming Coe theatre production of “Iphigenia at Aulis.”

In addition, a pre-concert performance of Vivaldi’s “Autumn” and “Winter” will take place in the Sinclair lobby beginning at 6:30 p.m., including a subset of the orchestra’s strings. The pre-concert will feature Gina Ostrander, harpsichord, and Coe Artist Faculty Beth Hoffman with a violin solo.

For more information, contact the Coe Music Department at 399-8521.

The first half of the program explores different settings of the Orpheus myth. Audience members will see and hear Orpheus’ wedding to Euridice, watch him bargain with the Furies to cross the river Styx and gain entrance into the underworld, and see what happens afterward. This set features the music of Monteverdi, Byrd, Schumann, Steffens, Gluck and more, as well as the premiere of two new pieces on Orpheus texts by Falk, the choir’s conductor.

The journey continues with Samuel Barber’s beautiful “Reincarnations,” and a set of thoughtful and provocative music from Coe’s new chamber choir, Camerata. The journey then ends with uplifting and spiritual music by Dawson, Copland, Christiansen and others.

For more information, call 399-8521.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available by calling the Coe Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., or at the door the night of the event.

Traditions and techniques of the Burundi are passed down from father to son, and such performances were part of ceremonies, like births funerals and the enthronement of kings. The scared and symbolic drums are central to the Burundi. The thunderous sounds of the four drums, “Ingoma,” “Amashako,” “Ibishikiso” and “Inkiranya” represent, along with the king, the powers of fertility and regeneration. Performances are a fusion of grace and athleticism executed with energy and creative spirit, creating a masterful representation of Burundi musical heritage.

This athletic display of improvised dancing and drumming around the stage is “sheer pleasure” says the New York Times.

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920. The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community.

For more information, go to www.coe.edu or call 399-8600.

Cutline: The Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi will perform in a Coe College Marquis Series event on Monday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium.

The exhibit will open with a gallery talk by Millard-Mendez at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26 in the Sinclair Auditorium lobby with an opening reception to immediately follow from 5 – 7 p.m. The artwork will continue to be displayed from Oct. 27 through Nov. 18 from 4 – 6 p.m. daily in the Marvin Cone and Eaton-Buchan Galleries of Sinclair on the Coe campus. All events are free and open to the public.

“We are excited to exhibit sculpture by Rob Millard-Mendez and drawings/prints by Nancy Raen-Mendez,” said Coe Gallery Director Jennifer Rogers. “Rob is inspired by ‘timeless archetypical images,’ which take the form of ships for this exhibition titled ‘A Feeble Armada.’ He sees the work as a catalyst for conversation and intellectual play. Thinking of his work as ‘large toys, he uses irony and humor to make statements about human interaction.’”

“By contrast, the works of Nancy Naen-Mendez, in ‘The Thirteen and The Seventeen’ are quiet investigations into the world of swarming insects. Using a subdued palette of ‘mostly black and white or earth-based colors,’ she creates delicate prints, drawings, mixed-media and/or fiber related works,” continued Rogers. “For this exhibition, her inspiration comes from Magicicada, a type of cicada that, during its short life, makes its way through southern Indiana (where she currently lives).”
Details of the exhibits are as follows:

Rob Millard-Mendez
Rob Millard-Mendez creates many of his pieces based on themes from classical mythology viewed through the lens of contemporary events. The works are meant to involve the viewer on many levels: physically, visually and intellectually.

“My work is very contemporary, but it also draws from an exceptionally deep well of timeless archetypal images and concepts. My work is multi-layered; it offers viewers many possible interpretations and allusions. I see my sculptures as catalysts for conversation and intellectual play. I am also highly interested in contemporary conversations about how art and craft inform one another and share (sometimes contested) territory,” said Millard-Mendez in his artist’s statement.

“The primary aim in my work is to illustrate and analyze concepts that I find enthralling. I often describe my sculptures as large toys. Many of them are humorous statements about human interactions. My work often includes interactive elements that the viewer can play with, thus physically becoming part of the art experience. The fun, toy-like quality of my work is set in ironic counterbalance with a certain amount of dark humor.”

Millard-Mendez received his BFA from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and went on to earn an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He has received more than 50 awards for his art and teaching, and his sculptures are included in over 50 private and public collections. He has taught art at the college level since 1999, and his work has been exhibited in more than 325 shows in museums and galleries internationally and throughout the U.S.

Nancy Raen-Mendez
Nancy Raen-Mendez specializes in painting, drawing and printmaking. Many of the works included in this exhibit relate to the swarming of insects, mostly various types of flies and cicadas.

“The title, ‘The Thirteen and The Seventeen’ relates to the lifespan of the Magicicada. These are cicadas which make their way through southern Indiana (where I currently live),” says Raen-Mendez. “The work itself is mostly black and white or created using an earth-based palette. Most of the work is on paper in the form of prints, drawings or mixed-media and/or fiber related works.”

Naen-Mendez graduated with a BFA in painting and 2-D studies from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth where she later obtained her MAE. She most recently earned her MFA from the University of Cincinnati and is currently an instructor at the University of Southern Indiana. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and residencies, and has exhibited her work throughout the country.

For more information on the exhibit, call 399-8581.

This year’s program will feature a wide range of dancers, including a Chinese belly dancer, a Japanese Fisherman Dance and a Vietnamese dance. Several bands will perform featuring students from China, Nepal and the United States, along with singing and dancing from Cambodia and Korea, and much more. A style show featuring fashions from around the world will conclude the show.

This fall, Coe has students representing a variety of foreign countries, and many will be performing as part of the program. Audience members are invited to meet the performers at a reception in the Sinclair lobby immediately following the show.

For more information call 399-8741.

The science faculty and students at Coe are not only celebrating the 10th year of this popular event, but they are eager to showcase the “new” Peterson Hall of Science to the community. The 40-year-old science center underwent a $12 million renovation last summer.

More than 1,500 people typically participate in the Playground of Science, making it one of the largest community events held annually on the Coe campus. The Playground of Science is designed for elementary school students and their parents, but students of all ages are welcome to participate. There will be door prizes and fun throughout the evening.

The scientific demonstrations will be interactive and include producing snow and creating dragon’s breath using methanol/salts in flame. In addition, students can play with numbers, observe incredibly strong magnets, watch candy make a spray fountain out of soda, learn about the math of bubbles, and hear singing rods. Students can also see how chemistry allows for the creation of useful substances and observe molten glass poured at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit from a crucible. Models of hearts and eyes will be on display to allow students to learn about the human body. By participating in the activities, students can learn about science and the natural world.

Peterson Hall is on College Drive (13th Street) opposite the Clark Alumni House. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested by e-mail to Coe Physics Professor Steve Feller at sfeller@coe.edu. For more information call 399-8633.

Max is a graduate of Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. His new book is the biography of author David Foster Wallace. Wallace was the leading literary light of his era, a man who not only captivated readers with his prose but also mesmerized them with his brilliant mind. Published by Viking Penguin in August, the book is currently ranked 28th on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction, and it has been critically acclaimed.

In the first biography of the writer, Max sets out to chart Wallace’s tormented, anguished and often triumphant battle to succeed as a novelist as he fights off depression and addiction to emerge with his masterpiece, “Infinite Jest.” Since his untimely death by suicide at the age of 46 in 2008, Wallace has become more than the quintessential writer for his time—he has become a symbol of sincerity and honesty in an inauthentic age.

In the end, as Max shows his readers, what is most interesting about Wallace is not just what he wrote, but how he taught everyone to live. Written with the cooperation of Wallace’s family and friends, and with access to hundreds of his unpublished letters, manuscripts and audio tapes, this portrait of an extraordinarily gifted writer is as fresh as news, as intimate as a love note, as painful as a goodbye.

Max is also the author of “The Family That Couldn’t Sleep: A Medical Mystery.” He lives in New Jersey with his wife, their two young children, and a rescued beagle who came to them named Max.

For more information, go to www.coe.edu or call 399-8581.

The featured numbers for the program include “Praeludium and Allegro” by Kreisler, “C minor Sonata op. 45” by Grieg, “Rondo Capriccioso” by Saint-Saens, and “Phantasy, op. 47” by Schoenberg. Works by Debussy and Prokofiev will also be performed.

Since being invited to perform together as a violin and piano duo in Moscow in 2002, David and Gompper have presented more than 100 concerts, touring throughout the United States and a number of countries in Europe. While their repertoire includes traditional works, their main focus is a combination of late romantic, standard 20th century and contemporary compositions written especially for them. Four CDs of the duo are available: two on the Albany label, and one each on Naxos and VDE-Gallo.

The event is sponsored by Friends of Music at Coe. For more information call 399-8521.

Wolfgang David
Violinist Wolfgang David has become ensconced on the international stage, both as a recitalist, and as a guest soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including a performance of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” with The New York Virtuosi Chamber Symphony. David’s growing reputation is marked in reviews by the likes of Thomas Frost, senior executive producer at Sony Classical, who foresees for him “a significant international concert and recording career.” The Washington Post says David has “scaled the heights of music making.”

David performs widely in Europe, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and South Africa. He has been the winner of many competitions and prizes, including the University of Vienna’s “Foundation Stefanie Hohl” award, top prize in the Kulenkampff International Competition (Cologne), and the International Music Competition (Pretoria, South Africa). He has recorded two CDs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The musician performs on a violin built in 1715 by Carlo Bergonzi, Cremona, on exclusive loan to him from the Austrian National Bank.

David Gompper
David Gompper has lived and worked professionally as a pianist, a conductor and a composer in New York, San Diego, London, Nigeria, Michigan, Texas and Iowa. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and received his doctorate at the University of Michigan. Gompper taught at the University of Texas, Arlington, and since 1991 has been professor of composition and director of the Center for New Music at the University of Iowa. In 2002-2003, Gompper was in Russia as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching, performing and conducting at the Moscow Conservatory. In 2009, he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City.

Gompper’s compositions are heard throughout the United States and Europe. In 1999, his “Transitus” for wind ensemble premiered at Carnegie Hall, and a number of his works have premiered in London’s Wigmore Hall, including: “Hommage a W. A.” (William Albright) for piano; and “Shades of Love,” a song cycle on the poetry of Constantin Cavafy. Subsequent returns to Moscow have included premieres and performances of “Crossed,” “Music in the Glen,” “Six Love Poems”, “Star of the County Down,” “Butterfly Dance,” and other compositions.

Seats are reserved, and tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or by calling the Coe College Box Office at 399-8600, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Elephant in the Room” is written by Tisch Jones (under her maiden name of Patricia Rhone). Jones, a recently retired theatre professor at the University of Iowa, is also guest directing the play.

The play is a new adaptation of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie.” Originally an examination of class issues prevalent in Northern Europe during the late 19th century, this drama, in a provocative reframing, provides the audience with a peek into the unique complexity that is born out of the collision between race and class in today’s world. This “Miss Julie” is a violent and dangerous dance between three characters in antebellum New Orleans, foretelling of the quieter, but equally dangerous way we dance around issues of race today.
“The original script, ‘Miss Julie,’ focused on class issues in a Scandinavian country, but I envisioned it in America with the focus on race. When my (graduate school) classmates argued the reality of a band showing up in Miss Julie’s home in the middle of the play, I saw it as normal,” noted Jones in her director’s comments. “Being from New Orleans, I completely embraced such an occurrence happening during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Such moments fostered the beginning of ‘Elephant in the Room.’ When invited to Coe to work on my fantasy production of ‘Miss Julie, it was a graduate school dream come true, 40 years later.”

For more information, call 319-399-8600 or visit theatre.coe.edu.

Cutline: Coe students Rashad Harris ’14 (left, as Jean), Jane Lindemann ’15 (center, as Miss Julie) and Tierre Henry ’14 (right, as Celeste) are featured in the upcoming Coe theatre production of “Elephant in the Room.”

Highlighted events for the weekend include alumni classes, the rededication of Peterson Hall of Science, the all-alumni reception and silent auction, and the Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet. Other events will include the 24th annual 5K Run & Walk, the Homecoming parade, the 22nd annual Brat ’n Beverage Tent, the football game against Buena Vista, an all-alumni dinner and an all-alumni dance. An alumnae softball game, a Jazz Club concert and a theatrical production will cap off the weekend’s activities on Sunday.

During the weekend, special reunion events are planned for the classes of 1937, 1942,
1947, 1952, 1957, 1966-68, 1971-72, 1991-93 and the class of 2002. In addition, the 100th anniversary of the Delta Delta Delta chapter at Coe will be celebrated, along with an African-American reunion.

Friday, Sept. 28 events
On Friday, special luncheons will be held at noon for the Golden Reunion classes (1962 and prior) in Gage Memorial Union. The Quarterback Club lunch in Charlie’s P.U.B. will include a preview of the Homecoming football game. There will be educational sessions held all day in Kesler Lecture Hall of Hickok Hall, including “Management and Leadership in a Time of Uncertainty” by Thomas Petersen ’62 at 10:30 a.m. and “From Touch Tone Trimlines to Cellular Handheld Telephones” by Jerry Adams ’62 at 1:45 p.m.

The rededication celebration for Peterson Hall of Science begins with a reception and tour at 3 p.m., the ceremony at 4 p.m. in Cherry Auditorium, and additional tours following. The special guest speaker for the event is Curators’ Emeritus Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Delbert E. Day from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The 40th annual Coe Athletic Hall of Fame reception and dinner will take place in Gage Memorial Union beginning at 6 p.m. This year’s dinner will feature the induction of John Costello ’92, Katie McGuire Graham ’86, Heidi Nitz Schomaker ’94, Kim Buchner Spranger ’87, and Joe Whitters ’89.

Also on Friday, the Tri Delta 100th anniversary reception and dinner will take place at the President’s Home – Pleasant Hill and Cedar Rapids Country Club starting at 5 p.m.

The African-American reunion, reception and dinner will be held at the African American Museum beginning at 6 p.m. Phoebe Smith, the former Coe academic services advisor, will be honored at this dinner.

The Homecoming Showcase Concert begins at 7 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium. This free concert will feature Coe’s performing ensembles: Chorale, Concert Band, Concert Choir, Camerata, Jazz Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra.

At 7:30 p.m., the Coe Department of Theatre Arts will present “Elephant in the Room,” a new adaption of Strinberg’s “Miss Julie.” The production will also be presented on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.

An all-alumni reception and silent auction will take place the same evening from 8:30 – 11 p.m. at Clark Alumni House. The Homecoming pep rally and coronation will wrap up Friday’s festivities at 9 p.m. in Eby Fieldhouse.

Saturday, Sept. 29 events
Events on Saturday, Sept. 29, begin with the 24th annual 5K Run & Walk at Clark Field at 8 a.m. All participants are encouraged to pre-register to guarantee their T-shirt size. A special viewing of “80 Years Through the Lens – The Life & Work of George T. Henry” begins at 9:45 a.m. in Kesler Lecture Hall of Hickok Hall. The documentary of Coe’s own George Henry ’49 premiered in June on Coe’s campus and was produced by Kevin Kelly ’67. Tours of the renovated Peterson Hall of Science will also be offered between 9 and 11 a.m.

The annual Homecoming Parade around Clark Field will begin at 11 a.m., featuring honorary grand marshals President James R. Phifer and First Lady Linnie Phifer, who are in their last year at Coe. Following the parade, the 22nd annual Brat ’n Beverage Tent will be set up on the corner of D Avenue and 14th Street. This is a popular meeting place for alumni, parents, students and friends to tailgate before the game.

Kickoff for the Homecoming football game is set for 1 p.m. at Clark Field. The Kohawks will suit up to play Buena Vista. Athletic Hall of Fame inductees will be introduced prior to the game at 12:40 p.m.

Special class receptions and dinners will be held late Saturday afternoon and evening.

A special event is the all-alumni banquet at the Marriott Hotel ballroom beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Alumni Award of Merit will be presented to Don Erusha ’52, Dr. Bruce W. Jafek ’62 and Albert Kircher ’51. Cece Lynch Van Metre ’52 will receive the Distinguished Service Award for her many years as a supporter and volunteer for Coe. Amy J. Burgin ’02 will be honored as the recipient of the Young Alum Award. An all-alumni dance will follow the ceremony.

Sunday, Sept. 30 events
On Sunday, Sept. 30, an alumnae softball game will be held at 11 a.m. at Clark Field. At 2 p.m., an Alumni – Faculty – Student Jazz Club concert will take place in Sinclair Auditorium.

For more information or to register for Homecoming events and activities, call the Coe Alumni Office at 319-399-8561. Online registration and information is also available at www.coe.edu.

The grant was written by faculty from the Coe physics and chemistry departments. Physics Professor Mario Affatigato is serving as the principal investigator for the project, with co-principal investigators Chemistry Professor Maria Dean, Chemistry Professor Steve Singleton and Physics Professor Steve Feller. The proposal was funded through the Major Research Instrumentation Program of the Division of Materials Research.

“The ability to take multiple measurements without moving the sample is particularly important in doing nanoscale work, where moving the sample often results in the loss of information regarding the location of changes on the surface,” explained Affatigato. “This instrument can also channel light using hollowed ‘tips,’ resulting in the focusing of light well beyond that attainable from a common microscope.”

The new technology will enhance the on-campus scientific research opportunities for Coe students, who get access to scientific instruments that are oftentimes reserved for graduate students at other institutions.

“The grant’s impact on students will be quite significant, as it will allow the college to train its undergraduates in equipment that is critical in today’s nanotechnology,” said Affatigato. “This will be the most advanced state-of-the-art instrument in the sciences at Coe.”

The new instrument is expected to be installed in the newly renovated Peterson Hall of Science in February, with full operation expected in the summer of 2013. According to Affatigato, there are fewer than 100 such instruments in the country, and most are at major universities or industrial research centers.

The funding is the latest in a series of external grants received by Coe’s science programs over the past two decades, with more than $1 million received from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the past five years. In addition, Coe received a prestigious $4.7 million grant from the NSF for this summer’s major renovation of Peterson Hall.

Coe is currently one of five small colleges in the U.S. to host a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site, also supported by the NSF, which provides opportunities for students from Coe and other colleges across the country to conduct research in chemistry and physics.

The exhibit opens in conjunction with a reception in the Sinclair Auditorium lobby on Friday, Sept. 14, from 5 – 7 p.m. The artwork will continue to be displayed from Sept. 15 through Oct. 7 from 4 – 6 p.m. daily in the Marvin Cone and Eaton-Buchan Galleries of Sinclair on the Coe campus. The reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public.

Kennedy will also give an artist’s talk on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. in Dows Fine Arts Center, and a gallery talk in Sinclair on Friday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.

“Zeuxis is a grassroots organization of painters formed in 1995 to explore the contemporary possibilities of still life,” said Coe Gallery Director Jennifer Rogers. “The group has more than 20 members, and for this special exhibition, has included the work of eight additional artists. Coe is the third of five stops for this touring show in which all works explore the curious nature of reflection.”

For their latest exhibition titled “Reflections,” Zeuxis artists and their guests have each agreed to produce a still life incorporating a reflecting object. The nature of the reflection – its surface (likely a mirror, though possibly glass or silverware) and the image reflected (still life objects, a window, or even a self-portrait) – was determined by each individual artist.

Reflections have long intrigued painters, and served them in various ways. Jan van Eyck, for his own mysterious purposes, famously placed a convex mirror in the background of his double portrait “The Arnolfini Wedding” (1434). In modern times, Bonnard and Matisse employed the worlds-within-worlds of mirrors to dramatize the visual paradoxes and dramas of light and space. And spanning these eras is another, enduring characteristic. It symbolizes the inquiry behind the act of painting – itself a reflection, invariably, of an individual’s encounter with the human experience.

Visiting Artist Tim Kennedy

Tim Kennedy earned a BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh and an MFA from Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, N.Y. He began an affiliation with Indiana University in Bloomington in 1998, where he currently teaches painting, drawing and design.

Since 1982, his paintings have been shown at solo exhibitions at private galleries and college and universities exhibits in Boston, New York, Indiana, and numerous other locations. During his career, he has received numerous grants and awards.

For more information on the exhibit, call 399-8581.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available by calling the Coe Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., or at the door the night of the event.

Sapolsky has been called “one of the best scientist-writers of our time” by Oliver Sacks and “one of the finest natural history writers around” by The New York Times. In addition to numerous scientific papers, Professor Sapolsky has produced books for broader audiences, including “A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons,” “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress Disease and Coping,” and “The Trouble with Testosterone.” His articles have appeared in publications such as Discover and The New Yorker. Currently, he is working on a book to be titled: “Human Aggression, Human Compassion and the Ambiguities of Biology.”

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920. The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community.

For more information, go to www.coe.edu or call 399-8600.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available by calling the Coe Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the event.

In “Dreams in the Arms of a Binding Lady,” Ashizawa and her company present theatrical invention, which combines the atmospheric quality of a Japanese ghost story and that of a ritualistic ceremony. According to a review in DC Theatre Scene, “’Dreams in the Arms of a Binding Lady’ is a triumphant display of some serious artistry. From the dreams’ concepts to each performers’ facial expressions, the show is well-polished on every level…(You) shouldn’t miss this imaginative tour-de-force.”

Ashizawa has performed her pieces throughout the world, including residencies in Iran, Romania, Peru and Australia. She has won numerous awards, including the Director’s Award at the 2011 Capital Fringe Festival for her piece, “iKilL.” Ashizawa grew up studying traditional Japanese theatre forms (No, Kabuki, Bunraku) and eventually branched off to work directly with the great director and teacher, Tadashi Suzuki.

A graduate of the Yale Drama School, Ashizawa is currently an assistant professor of acting, movement and devised theatre at the State University of New York – Stony Brook.

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920. The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community.

For more information, go to www.coe.edu or call 399-8600.

Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and three colleges outside the U.S. are profiled in the book, which is The Princeton Review’s flagship college guide. It includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranking lists of top 20 schools in the book in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review’s surveys of students attending the colleges.

“We commend Coe College for its outstanding academics, which is the primary criteria for our selection for schools in the book,” said Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s senior VP/publisher and author of “The Best 377 Colleges.” “Our choices are based on institutional data we collect about schools, our visits to schools over the years, feedback we gather from students attending the schools, and the opinions of our staff and our 30-member National College Counselor Advisory Board. We also work to keep a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity and character.”

In its profile on Coe, The Princeton Review quotes students who praise the college for its “tight-knit community feel” that provides “something different for everyone.” Among comments about the Coe experience, students noted, “Coe has a very warm and friendly atmosphere” that works “for the betterment of each individual Kohawk through experiences, in and out of the classroom, as well as creating a mature adult prepared for the ‘real-world.’” For many, the college is “an ideal size.”

In a “Survey Says” sidebar in the book’s profile on Coe, The Princeton Review lists topics that Coe students were in most agreement about in their answers to survey questions. The list includes: “Career Services are great,” “students are friendly” and “student government is popular.”

Public patrons of Coe theatre productions can purchase individual play tickets now for $8, $6 for seniors and non-Coe students. After Sept. 1, tickets for the general public will be $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.

For ticket information, call 399-8600, Monday – Friday, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. (summer hours).

All productions are being presented in the Dows Theatre on the Coe campus. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m., except for Sunday performances, which start at 2 p.m. This year’s productions include:

“Elephant in the Room” – Sept. 28, 29, 30 and Oct. 4, 5, 6, written by Tisch Jones (under her maiden name of Patricia Rhone). Jones, a recently retired theatre professor at the University of Iowa, is also guest directing the play.

“Elephant in the Room” is a new adaptation of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie.” Originally an examination of class issues prevalent in Northern Europe during the late 19th century, this drama, in a provocative re-framing, provides us with a peek into the unique complexity that is born out of the collision between race and class in today’s world. This “Miss Julie” is a violent and dangerous dance between three characters in antebellum New Orleans, foretelling of the quieter, but equally dangerous way we dance around issues of race today.

“Iphigenia at Aulis” – Nov. 16, 17, 18, 29, 30 and December 1, written by Euripides, translated by Elaine Terranova, directed by Coe Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Steven Marc Weiss.

While stranded with his troops at the port of Aulis, King Agamemnon of Argos faces the toughest decision of his life: should he or should he not yield to the goddess Artemis’ directive that he willingly sacrifice his eldest daughter as the only apparent means of conjuring the winds that will allow the Greek troops to set sail in their quest to conquer Troy. At its heartfelt, poignant core, this “family drama” about the conflicting demands of kinship vs. society-at-large is as accessible today as it presumably was when first presented over 2,500 years ago.

“By the Bog of Cats” – April 19, 20, 21, 25, 26 and 27, written by Marina Carr, staged by Coe Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Dennis Barnett.

Moving “between the mythic and the real,” this poetic venture into rural Ireland has quickly found its way into the contemporary canon. It is a story of an unrequited love and the ghosts that haunt it. It is a journey into the darkness of human frailty where ancient passions reside and consume the soul, where the past sucks the air out of the present and the future remains an illusive dream.

For more information, call 319-399-8600 or visit theatre.coe.edu.

Marquis Series patrons can purchase individual tickets and reserve seats for $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors. For ticket information, call the Coe College Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (summer hours).

This season’s Marquis Series events include:

“Dreams in the Arms of the Binding Lady” by Izumi Ashizawa – Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in Dows Theatre
Izumi Ashizawa and her company present a bold theatrical invention, which combines the atmospheric quality of a Japanese ghost story and that of a ritualistic ceremony. Izumi has performed her pieces throughout the world, including residencies in Iran, Romania, Peru and Australia. She has won numerous awards, including the Director’s Award at the 2011 Capital Fringe Festival for her piece, “iKilL.” She grew up studying traditional Japanese theatre forms (No, Kabuki, Bunraku) and eventually branched off to work directly with the great director and teacher, Tadashi Suzuki. A graduate of the Yale Drama School, Izumi is presently an assistant professor of acting, movement and devised theatre at the State University of New York – Stony Brook.

Robert Sapolsky – Monday, September 10, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium
Robert Sapolsky is one of the leading neuroscientists in the world, and has been called “one of the best scientist-writers of our time” by Oliver Sacks and “one of the finest natural history writers around” by The New York Times. In addition to numerous scientific papers, Professor Sapolsky has produced books for broader audiences, including “A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons,” “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress Disease and Coping,” and “The Trouble with Testosterone.” His articles have appeared in publications such as Discover and The New Yorker. Currently, he is working on a book to be titled: “Human Aggression, Human Compassion and the Ambiguities of Biology.”

Royal Drummers & Dancers of Burundi – Monday, October 29, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium
The Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi is one of the greatest percussion troupes in the world, rooted in centuries of tradition. Traditions and techniques of the Burundi are passed down from father to son and such performances were part of ceremonies, like births, funerals and the enthronement of kings. The sacred and symbolic drums are central to the Burundi. The thunderous sounds of the four drums, “Ingoma,” “Amashako,” “Ibishikiso” and “Inkiranya” represent, along with the king, the powers of fertility and regeneration. Performances are a fusion of grace and athleticism executed with energy and creative spirit, creating a masterful representation of Burundi musical heritage.
Margaret Wertheim – Friday, February 8, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium
Internationally renowned science writer and commentator Margaret Wertheim is originally from Australia, but now lives in Los Angeles. Her work includes extensive texts about science and society for magazines, television and radio. In addition to these works, she is the author of two books: “Pythagoras’ Trousers,” a history of the relationship between physics, religion and women, and “The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace,” a cultural history of space from Dante to the Internet. Aside from writing, Wertheim frequently lectures at universities and colleges across the globe about science and society, and science and religion. Most recently, she toured in South Africa lecturing about physics and religion, historically and today.

Jonathan Biss presents “Schumann: Under the Influence” – Friday, March 15, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium
The artistry and musical intelligence of American pianist Jonathan Biss has resulted in The New Yorker describing him as playing with “unerring sophistication.” He has gained international recognition for his orchestral, recital and chamber music performances and award-winning recordings. His performances show a repertoire of diverse range from Mozart and Beethoven, through the Romantics to works by contemporary composers. At Coe, Biss’ performance will include the music of Robert Schumann, Leos Janacek and Alban Berg. Biss made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, and since has performed with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. He frequently performs at leading international music festivals and gives recitals in major music capitals both at home and abroad.

Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet – Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium
Founded in 1988, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet was the first permanently established wind quintet in the famous orchestra’s rich tradition of chamber music. Listeners and critics agree that the ensemble has succeeded in redefining the sound of the classic wind quintet. With their tonal spectrum and conceptual unity, the quintet leaves audiences astounded. The group’s repertoire is what contributes to pushing beyond the classic sound of wind quintets. While it covers the entire spectrum of the wind quintet, works for enlarged ensembles are also performed. The Berlin Philharmonic is passionate and committed to its repertoire, and in 1991 found a perfect recording partner, the Swedish company BIS records. This collaboration has produced critical accolades worldwide. The group’s Coe program will include music by Franz Danzi, Kalevi Aho, Darius Milhaud and Carl Nielsen.

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920. The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community.

Sponsored statewide by the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, 2012 marks the 14th year for the annual campus visit program, held at 28 participating non-profit private colleges and universities. Organizers at Coe say the sessions are a good way for students and their families to explore what is most important to them about a future college and how Coe fits their goals.

After each campus visit, students will receive a stamp in an IPCW passport. With three or more stamps (limit two per day), students will be eligible for a drawing for one of 56 bookstore vouchers valued at $500 each to be awarded statewide. Each participating college will award two $500 bookstore vouchers to students who visit during IPCW, complete the required three or more passport stamps, and then apply, are accepted, and enroll.

A partnership with Casey’s General Stores will offer families who present a valid IPCW passport with a 5-cent per gallon discount on gasoline during the week, on purchases of up to 30 gallons per day.

For more information about tours and information sessions at Coe College during Iowa Private College week, call the Coe Admission Office at (319) 399-8500 or toll free (877) – CALL – COE. Students may also pre-register for the event online at www.coe.edu/ipcw.

Heins-Johnson Professor of Biology Harlow Hadow is recognized after receiving the Charles J. Lynch Outstanding Teacher Award at Coe's commencement.

Two members of the Coe community received special recognition at the college’s commencement ceremony on May 6.  The first lady of Coe College, Linnie Phifer, received the Eliza Hickok Kesler Outstanding Service Award, while Biology Professor Harlo Hadow was honored with the Lynch Award for outstanding teaching.  The citations were presented by Gene Henderson, chair of the Coe Board of Trustees and a 1968 alumnus of the college.

Eliza Hickok Kesler Outstanding Service Award

The Eliza Hickok Kesler Outstanding Service Award is given most years, but not every year, at Coe’s graduation.  It was created in 1999 for the purpose of honoring superior, long-term service to Coe – service that advances the purposes and mission of the institution.  Faculty, staff, alumni and trustees are all eligible.  This award is named for Eliza Hickok Kesler, class of 1931, known to generations of the Coe family as Roby, whose lifetime of distinguished service to the college is unparalleled.

Linnie Phifer, the wife of Coe President James Phifer, has served the college in differing capacities for more than 25 years.  Throughout that time, she has worked tirelessly to advance the cause of the institution.  Her most visible efforts have been in planning and overseeing countless Coe events, both on campus and at gatherings of alumni across the country.

“In organizing and directing college events, Linnie has set a new high standard for the way the college presents itself to the larger world.  Her efforts have elevated the pride in the institution felt both by members of the campus community and by alumni,” said Henderson.  “In everything she does, Linnie displays extraordinary devotion to the success of the institution on a broad front, and a commitment to fostering the well-being of the Coe community.”

In choosing this year’s Kesler winner, the executive committee of the faculty noted in particular the degree to which her values parallel those of Roby Kesler, for whom the award is named.  Linnie Phifer’s career at Coe has not only reflected but exalted the tradition of commitment to Coe established by Roby.  Each has served the college as the greatest cheerleader for all things Coe.

Charles J. Lynch Outstanding Teacher Award

As selected by the Coe College class of 2012, the Charles J. Lynch Outstanding Teacher Award was presented to Heins-Johnson Professor of Biology Harlo Hadow.  The award was established at Coe in 1983.  It is presented annually at commencement and consists of a $2,000 prize made possible by an endowment gift.

Hadow earned his bachelor’s degree from Milton College and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder.  He has taught in the Coe Biology Department since 1977.

Educated as a vertebrate behavioral ecologist, Hadow has researched the communication, growth and development, and ecology of various woodpeckers in the U.S. and Central America.  Other research interests include the salamander population dynamics in Iowa and urban deer populations in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.   Hadow also serves as the director of the Coe Wilderness Field Station on the boundary waters near Ely, Minnesota.  He teaches classes in human anatomy, comparative chordate anatomy, embryology, ornithology and vertebrate natural history.

Members of the class of 2012 were invited by Coe President James Phifer to nominate a member of the faculty for this award.  In doing so they were asked to give careful consideration to three criteria: quality of teaching; concern for students as individuals; and scholarship.

The Charles J. Lynch Outstanding Teacher Award memorializes the values and service of C.J. Lynch, an alumnus of Coe College, class of 1926.  Lynch was a prominent Cedar Rapids attorney whose dedication to Coe College was reflected, among other ways, by 43 years of service on the board of trustees of the college.  Above all things, C.J. Lynch valued inspirational teaching and sound scholarship.

The first lady of Coe, Linnie Phifer, graciously greets the commencement audience upon being named the recipient of the Eliza Hickok Kesler Outstanding Service Award by Gene Henderson, class of 1968 and chair of the Coe Board of Trustees (beside podium).