Director

Dr. Timothy M. O’Donnell (“Tim”) is the Director of Debate at UMW. As a faculty member in the English, Linguistics, and Speech department, he teaches courses in rhetoric, public address, and argumentation. Dr. O’Donnell is regarded as dedicated teacher who enthusiastically combines cutting edge pedagogical methods with a strong belief in the virtues of a debate education to create an energetic learning environment for members of the Debate Program.   As Director, Tim has coached the university’s  policy debate team to win the American Debate Association National Championship in 2009 and four other times since 2001 and to finish second twice. He has received the association’s Robert Lambert Coach of the Year Award for Excellence and Service in Intercollegiate Debate. During his tenure, UMW Debate has been ranked consistently among the top 20 programs in the nation by the National Debate Tournament (NDT). Tim recently concluded serving as the chair of the National Debate Tournament Committee. During his tenure as chair, Tim received the NDT’s George Ziegelmueller Award that is presented to a faculty member who has distinguished himself or herself in the communication profession while coaching teams to competitive success at the NDT.

Tim is also a nationally-recognized leader of the campaign to help historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) field high-quality debate teams on crucial public policy issues. Tim’s interview about his effort to revive debate at HBCUs aired on the “With Good Reason” public radio program. In 2009, he and the UMW debate program collaborated with HBCUs to plan and host a week-long debate workshop at UMW to promote intercollegiate debate’s revival. In addition, Tim co-organized the first ever Inaugural Debate Series—which invited HBCUs and other schools including UMW to D.C. on the eve of the 2009 inauguration to debate Obama administration priorities. He also has been a co-organizer of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Water Wars” Debate Series.

He also administers, plans and organizes on-campus public debates and assists a variety of outreach projects including UMW’s James Farmer Scholars Program, which he has assisted as a longtime instructor.

Before he arrived at UMW, he was an assistant coach at both the University of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest University where he worked with teams that consistently reached the late elimination rounds of virtually every major college tournament including the NDT.  Prior to that, he served as the Director of Debate at Brookfield Central High School (WI), where his student’s accomplishments included appearances in the finals of the Montgomery Bell Academy Tournament and the Tournament of Champions (TOC), as well as the top speaker at the TOC.  He has taught at the Wake Forest Summer Debate Workshops and has served as a senior researcher for the Debater’s Research Guide. He received his Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Pittsburgh and his research interests include argumentation, rhetoric and public address, and science policy.