The Fall 2011 Edition of the Key has been published

Colleagues–

You may read the Fall 2011 Edition of The Key by visiting the Pi Kappa Delta website or by following this link:

http://site.mawebcenters.com/pikappadelta/docs/KEY_Fall_2011.pdf

Pi Kappa Delta 2011 Annual Report

Colleagues,

You can read an electronic copy of the 2011 Pi Kappa Delta Annual Report by  visiting our website, or by following this link:

http://site.mawebcenters.com/pikappadelta/docs/2011_Annual_Report.pdf

 

 

Pi Kappa Delta Receives $135,000 Grant from the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation

Ripon, Wisconsin. Pi Kappa Delta has received a two-year $135,000 grant from the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation in Santa Barbara, California. The grant is the designed to encourage the growth of audience-centered public forum debate at the intercollegiate level, and it will allow PKD to hire a full time National Coordinator. “A major focus of our strategic planning process has been to locate an event that would encourage students to join Pi Kappa Delta and participate in forensics even on campuses without formal forensics programs,” said PKD President Gina Jensen. “We feel that Public Forum Debate is the ideal event because it is rapidly becoming the most popular format of debate at the high school level, it does not require professional coaching staff, and it produces audience-centered debates that are very attractive to college and university administrators as well as members of the general public.”

The grant will allow Pi Kappa Delta to hire a full-time National Coordinator to assist existing chapters in adopting the format, and to induct hundreds or perhaps even thousands of graduating high school seniors into the Order of Instruction.  “This is the first step toward rebuilding intercollegiate forensics at the grassroots level,” noted Past President Phillip Voight. “The whole premise of our new Constitution was to make it as easy as possible for graduating seniors to join us, form chapters and continue competing in forensics at the college level. Although some of
these new chapters will undoubtedly prove to be temporary, over time, we expect that a great many of them will become permanent members of our community.”

In addition to allowing PKD to hire a full time staff member at the national office, the grant includes generous support for the 2013 National Tournament and Convention, including:

• A $25,000 general tournament sponsorship;
• A $10,000 program assistance fund to help underwrite judging and tournament entry fees for schools that would otherwise be unable to attend the tournament; and,
• A $20,000 pool of scholarship awards for students who are successful in the event.

“We’ve been working hard on attracting tournament sponsors,” noted Voight, “and we hope that this is the first of several 2013 sponsorships that we will announce.” It’s been more than a decade since the National Council raised membership or tournament fees, and PKD compares very favorably with other national forensics tournaments. Nonetheless, support like the kind offered by the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation is crucial to the National Council’s efforts to reduce the financial burdens associated with national tournament participation.

Several steps to implement the grant are already underway – including an NCA session designed to familiarize coaches, instructors and tournament administrators with the Public Forum format, instructional videos and curriculum materials that will be added to the PKD website throughout the fall, and a Public Forum demonstration session to be held at the 2012 NCT in Kansas City. Please consult the website for further status updates.

This grant would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of NFL Executive Secretary Scott Wunn and Development Director Cherian Koshy. In addition to offering to house the new position at the NFL office, both Scott and Cherian have been instrumental in forging a strong partnership between PKD and the NFL. Together with the adoption of the new point-system and bylaws, the grant places PKD at the forefront of what promises to be a period of robust growth in intercollegiate forensics. As President-Elect Jeffrey Stoppenhagen put it, “It’s not unrealistic to expect to have a PKD chapter on virtually every American college and university campus within the next two decades.”

Please take a few moments to write a letter of thanks to the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation at:

Arthur N. Rupe Foundation
3887 State Street
Suite 22
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

For further information or interview requests, please contact:

Phillip Voight
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 West College Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
(651) 492-8449
pvoight@gustavus.edu

or write PiKappaDeltaNationalOffice@gmail.com

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Pi Kappa Delta Seeks Candidate for Full-Time National Coordinator

Pi Kappa Delta seeks a full-time Public Forum Debate National Coordinator to be housed in the National Forensic League Office in Des Moines, Iowa.  Job responsibilities will include: publicizing intercollegiate public forum debate opportunities among NFL members; inducting NFL graduates with public forum debate experience into existing PKD chapters; creating new PKD chapters on campuses without active chapters; and, providing assistance and public forum debate training materials to newly formed chapters, including: advice on hosting public forum debate tournaments, locating judges, securing local campus support and sponsorship, conducting public relations, and inducting and recruiting new members. The coordinator will also be responsible for working with existing PKD chapters to encourage their participation in public forum debate, and to maximize the number intercollegiate tournaments offering competition in the format. Finally, the Coordinator will be responsible for identifying and publicizing best practices in public forum debate, videotaping and archiving instructional and public relations materials, creating and facilitating public forum debate webinars and training materials, implementing a Public Forum demonstration session at the 2012 PKD National Comprehensive Tournament, and working with the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament Director to ensure a robust public forum division at the PKD National Tournament, beginning in 2013. Ideal candidates will have a working familiarity with public forum debate, will be familiar with both Pi Kappa Delta and the National Forensic League, will communicate effectively in both oral and written form, and will have exceptional project management and small group collaborative skills. Candidates possessing at least an M.A. degree will be preferred, but candidates with a B.A. will also be considered. Salary and compensation package will be based on experience and qualifications. Relocation assistance will not be available. Please submit a cover letter, Curriculum Vitae, and evidence of coaching, teaching or administrative effectiveness to:

Pi Kappa Delta National Office
National Coordinator Job Search
PO Box 38, 125 Watson Street
Ripon, WI 54971

Pi Kappa Delta is an equal opportunity employer and specifically encourages applications from traditionally under-represented groups. Information about Pi Kappa Delta, including the organization’s Strategic Plan and Mission, Vision and Value statement, may be obtained by visiting: www.pikappadelta.com
Review of applications will begin September 7^th and continue until the position has been filled.

Pi Kappa Delta Creates International Service-Learning Opportunity in India

Ripon, Wisconsin. Pi Kappa Delta has signed a memorandum of
understanding with Visthar – an educational institution located in Bangalore,
India – to create a three-year international service opportunity designed to
support the creation of the Bangalore Speech and Debating Society, and to
encourage Indian colleges and High Schools to add speech and debate instruction to their curricula. PKD students and instructors will conduct workshops, give lectures, demonstrate events, train judges and assist local hosts with tournament administration. Instruction will take place in English, but translations services will be available if necessary.

Phase one of the project is scheduled for August of 2012. PKD students, coaches and scholars will travel to Bangalore to provide advice and technical assistance on event design, tournament preparation, coaching techniques and instructional curriculum. Although the number of participants in the first phase of the project will be limited to ten (four faculty members and six students), years two and three promise broader opportunities for participation – particularly for undergraduate students.

Although annual debates are common in elite Indian high schools, year-round speech and debate competitions do not exist, and many impoverished schools lack access to speech and debate training. “We view this as fully consistent with our mission to expand access to speech and debate throughout the world and, in turn, to encourage civil discourse and community empowerment among participants,” notes Phillip Voight, who forged the agreement and traveled to India to present it on behalf of the National Council. The initial focus will be on five events: Basic Public Speaking, Persuasive Speaking, Debate (either public forum or Parliamentary), Dramatic Interpretation and Program Oral Interpretation. PKD formats will serve as the initial starting point, but organizers hope that the Bangalore Speech and Debate Society will develop its own rules, formats, and performative expectations. “We’re very mindful of the importance of providing training that is culturally appropriate,” said Voight. “We hope that the experiment will prove popular and spread throughout India, and we have no interest in mandating American event rules.” Ultimately, some Bangalore college students might even decide to become full-fledged Pi Kappa Delta members and participate in either the NCT or the National Tournament and Convention in an electronically-mediated event.

Visthar, for its part, was attracted by its desire to place important issues of social justice, resource distribution, and community empowerment before Indian high school and college students, and to help students develop life-long critical thinking, research, composition and presentation skills that are crucial to their future success. As Visthar’s Executive Director David Selveraj noted, “We strongly believe that this program will help prepare students to lead just lives of leadership and service as members of a truly global community.”

Pi Kappa Delta students will be housed at Visthar, which has a campus located in suburban Bangalore that includes dormitory space, a library, classrooms, a dining commons and a number of other facilities including a community college. One of India’s premier non-profit educational training institutions, Visthar has conducted hundreds of social justice, community-organizing and capacity-building training sessions.  With strong ties to the Indian NGO network, the Visthar partnership will also provide future internship opportunities for interested Pi Kappa Delta members – including the opportunity to serve a field organizer for the Bangalore Speech and Debate Society.

This service-learning program is the first of several that Pi Kappa Delta is exploring. Other locations include Capetown, South Africa, and Zhuhai (near Hong Kong), China. An additional site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is in the early planning stages.

Students and faculty will be responsible for securing airfare to India, but fundraising assistance will be available, and Pi Kappa Delta is actively seeking corporate sponsorship of the program. Details of the program and application forms will be posted on the website in October.

For further information or interview requests, please contact:

Phillip Voight
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 West College Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
(651) 492-8449
pvoight@gustavus.edu

or write PiKappaDeltaNationalOffice@gmail.com

 -30-

Pi Kappa Delta’s Programs at NCA

2011 Pi Kappa Delta Programs
November 17-20, New Orleans, LA

Thursday, November 17^th:

12:30 – 1:45:

Not Everyone Gets a Trophy:
How to Coach Gen Y and Millenial Students
Presentation Hall 1, New Orleans Mariott

Friday, November 18^th:

11:00 – 12:15:

Strategic Planning II:

Alumni relations, Governance and Programming
Mardi Gras E, New Orleans Mariott

3:30 – 4:45:

An Introduction to College Public Forum Debate
Mardi Gras E, New Orleans Mariott

Saturday, November 19^th:

8:00 – 9:15:

Pi Kappa Delta Business Meeting
Preservation Hall 10, New Orleans Mariott

12:30 – 1:45:

As Our Voices Change: Transitions in Forensic Participation
Presentation Hall 10, New Orleans Mariott

Check back for the date and time of the
PKD social!

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