Communication Department

Announcements

We are now Communication Studies! 

We are excited to announce that our Speech Communication program is now Communication Studies. In addition to the name change, we have added a number of courses to improve the foundation provided to our students. 

 

Health Communication Minor

The Health Communication minor is also now active. We have been working with other colleges and departments across campus to make this minor lucrative to students from every major. 

 

2019-2020 Debate Season

At the National Parliamentary Debate Association National Championship, the UT Tyler Patriots had two competitors survive the grueling first two days of competition, including 8 preliminary rounds from schools across the country, as well as fierce elimination out-rounds. Melodie Lamborn and Skyler Walker finished in the top 16 teams in the country, reaching the octa-final round at the National Championship Tournament. They beat a variety of teams from all across the country, the west coast, the Midwest, the northwest, and so on in order to be one of the 16 teams still standing on the last day of the tournament. 

As for the other tournament, the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (or NPTE) is a unique national championship tournament, requiring that teams qualify for the event over the course of the debate season. All season long teams are awarded points for their finishes at various competitions during the year. UT Tyler competed all across the country, from Berkeley California, to St. Louis Missouri, to Houston Texas. In doing so, Meldoie Lamborn and Skyler Walker, as well as Ayush Kumar and Mason Remaley were two of only 28 teams in the country to earn enough points to qualify for the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE). Having two teams qualify for such a prestigious tournament is quite the feat. 

Beyond merely qualifying, our students placed high, doing UT Tyler proud. Through incredible hard work and dedication, UT Tyler KR (Ayush Kumar and Mason Remaley) were able to reach the final round of the championship. Two sophomores, who entered the tournament as the 16th seed, made it all the way to the championship round. Quite impressive! 

In the final round, they debated an incredible team from the University of California Berkeley, including a debater who had previously won the national championship in 2018. There are 7 judges who evaluate the final round, and in a narrow 3 - 4 decision, we placed 2nd at the tournament. To finish second in the country so early in their debate career speaks volumes about the future of our program here at UT Tyler. 

To learn more about the Debate Team here at the University of Texas at Tyler, check out the Debate Team webpage and feel free to contact the coach, Joe Provencher. 

 

 

Contact:
Patricia Pelletier
ppelletier@uttyler.edu