2025 LAS Fall Convocation and Awards Ceremony

A ceremony with purpose

On Thursday, September 4th, 2025, the Iowa State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted a Fall Convocation and Awards Ceremony. This ceremony’s purpose is to award staff and faculty members who have shown their outstanding commitment to their expertise and dedication to bettering the lives of Iowa State Students.

We are excited to announce that three members (two current and one former) of the Communication Studies Program have been awarded! Read more about them below and congratulations to all the award winners!

Madison Akers

Madison Akers, an academic advisor for the COMST program, received an award for Early Achievement in Academic Advising. Akers’ student-centered approach and early-career impact stand out across the five majors she supports: Advertising, Communication Studies, English, Journalism, and Public Relations. Known for building strong, personalized relationships with students, she’s earned dozens of notes of appreciation through the CyThanx campaign. Her commitment to professional development is reflected in active participation with organizations like the Iowa Academic Advising Network (IowaAAN) and NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. Whether guiding individual students or supporting departmental goals, Akers brings education and excellence to every part of her advising role.

Akers said, “It was an honor to receive the Early Achievement in Academic Advising award from LAS Dean Withers. My students are so great that they make my job extremely easy and enjoyable, so it is because of them (and the great faculty and staff in the programs I work with) that I was able to earn this award.”

Tina Coffelt

Tina Coffelt, a former COMST professor and current English professor, received the Institutional Service Award. She has research specialties in interpersonal communication, workplace communication skills, sexual communication, privacy management, and multigenerational family communication. Dr. Coffelt was nominated for the LAS Institutional Service Award to acknowledge her deep and rich history of contributing to the college’s efforts to make LAS a place where every student, faculty, and staff member can succeed and thrive. Her award is given with grand thanks from many colleagues and students who have benefited from her efforts.

Katherine Rafferty

Katherine Rafferty, a COMST program teaching professor, received the Impact on Student Success Award. Rafferty teaches both in-person and online courses and received $20,000 in Engineering-LAS grants to develop two nationally certified Quality Matters online courses. Her multi-semester collaboration with undergraduate students has led to six peer-reviewed publications, all featuring student co-authors. Her collaborative work has garnered media attention from Sirius XM Doctor Radio, WHO-TV 13, and The Conversation. In recognition of her dedication to teaching and student mentorship, Rafferty received the Faculty Inspiration Award from the ISU Alumni Association in 2024.

Rafferty said, “The ceremony was great! It was an honor to receive the award and be with so many other wonderful faculty and staff across LAS. It’s a good reminder of the bigger picture that we are all working towards for all our students.”