The Director of Debate at the University of Mary Washington

Dr. Timothy M. O'Donnell ("Tim") is the Director of Debate and Debate Coach 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. During his tenure, UMW Debate has won three consecutive American Debate Association National Championships at the novice and junior varsity level and has been ranked consistently among the top 20 programs in the nation by the National Debate Tournament (NDT). 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 for the past ten years 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.