ABOUT
About UM Debate
The University of Miami Debate Team is a co-curricular activity sponsored by the School of Communication. Participation is open to any undergraduate student. The team travels nationally to compete in various intercollegiate tournaments each academic year. Team members have the option to compete in British Parliamentary two-person debate, or the Civic Debate format. The team also hosts on campus events including public debates, intercollegiate tournaments, presidential debate viewing parties, a high school summer workshop and high school policy debate tournaments. We are a tightly knit community that aims to support any student who wants to learn public speaking and debate skills.
The UM Debate Team been a part of the University of Miami since it open its doors in 1926, so we are celebrating 100 years of excellence, including being three-time champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Debate Tournament!
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Patrick Waldinger is the Director of Debate and a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies at the University of Miami. He has 25+ years of experience in the activity. He also is the Director of the Hurricane Debate Institute (HDI), an official UM summer camp that teaches middle and high school students argumentation and speaking skills. He was just recently is the President of the American Debate Association (ADA) and was the former President of the Cross Examination Debate Organization (CEDA). He is on the Board of Directors for the Miami Dade Urban Debate League (MDUDL) and a member of its Consultative Committee. Patrick works closely with the National Prison Debate League (NPDL), including coaching debate teams of incarcerated individuals.
