UK, National Speech & Debate Association to Host Podius Debate

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 4, 2016) — The University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information and the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) will host a Podius Debate on the UK campus at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6. Two professional speakers and a moderator will analyze the controversial topic: the media is to blame for large-scale voter ignorance.

The event — free and open to the public — will take place in the Woodford Reserve Room at Commonwealth Stadium.

University of Kansas Professor of Communication Studies Robert Rowland will discuss this contentious topic with Thomas Hollihan, political consultant and professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC). Elisia Cohen, chair of the UK Department of Communication and the Gifford Blyton Endowed Professor in Oral Communication and Forensics, will host the 60-minute debate, and Florida attorney and NSDA coach/alumna Tara Tedrow will moderate.

The audience will be given the chance to vote on a winner at the end of the debate.

Tomas Holihan served as associate dean for academic affairs in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism from 1997-2007. He currently chairs the executive committee of the USC U.S.-China Institute. He has also chaired the board of trustees of the National Debate Tournament. He is a faculty fellow in the USC Center for Public Diplomacy and the USC Center for Communication Leadership. He is the author of several books including: "The Dispute over the Diayou/Senkaku Islands: How Media Narratives Shape Public Opinions and Challenge the Global Order," "Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns in a Media Age," "Arguments and Arguing: The Products and Process of Human Decision Making" (with Kevin Baaske), and "Argument at Century's End: Reflecting on the Past and Envisioning the Future." In addition to his teaching and publishing, Professor Hollihan has served as a consultant to political candidates, elected officials, business leaders and nonprofit leaders. He makes frequent appearances in the media to discuss political issues and campaign strategies.

Robert C. (Robin) Rowland received his bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, where he and his debate colleagues were the 1976 National Debate Champions. He taught rhetoric, argumentation and debate for five years at Baylor University, where one of his teams won the 1987 National Debate Tournament. He has published three books, including "Shared Land/Conflicting Identity: Symbolic Trajectories of Israeli and Palestinian Symbol Use" and "Reagan at Westminster: Foreshadowing the End of the Cold War." In 2011, the National Communication Association bestowed upon him the Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award. Rowland has worked with congressional candidates on developing persuasive messages, as well as a number of other candidates for state offices. He has conducted a number of training programs for the Kansas Bar Association, which honored him with their Outstanding Service Award in 2003.  

This UK debate is supported by the Gifford Blyton Endowed Professorship in Oral Communication and Forensics in partnership with the National Speech and Debate Association. The debate is part of the Podius Debates Series, which will take place at colleges and universities across the United States. The series was created to help Americans preserve and strengthen their democratic institutions by championing intelligent and thoughtful civic discourse.

The Podius Debates series is made possible by a generous grant from the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation (ANRF). The ANRF supports numerous projects that promote civil and reasoned public debate at the high school, college and civic levels. The ANRF sponsored debates (including the Podius Debates series) are non-partisan and accessible to general audiences with the intention of educating and exposing audiences to all sides of a social issue. To learn more about Podius Debates, visit www.Podius.com.

About the National Speech & Debate Association

The National Speech & Debate Association is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school and collegiate students in the United States. The association provides competitive speech and debate activities, high-quality resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities and advanced recognition to more than 150,000 students and coaches every year. For more than 90 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has empowered more than 1.5 million members to become engaged citizens, skilled professionals and honorable leaders in our society. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, visit uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Harder, 859-323-2396, whitney.harder@uky.edu