K-State debate to name new squad room in honor of President Wefald

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Source: Justin Green, 785-532-6863, jmgreen@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Sara Shellenberger, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Friday, January 19, 2007

K-STATE DEBATE TO NAME NEW SQUAD ROOM IN HONOR OF PRESIDENT WEFALD

MANHATTAN -- A new debate squad room at Kansas State University is being dedicated to Jon Wefald, K-State president.

The dedication ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, in the new room, 007 Kedzie Hall. The event is open to the public.

The K-State debate team, which is currently ranked sixth in the country, will unveil the new room as the Jon Wefald Debate Center, with Wefald cutting the ceremonial ribbon at the ceremony.

"This event is done out of recognition and as a thank-you for the many years of support that President Wefald has provided to the debate team," said Justin Green, director of debate and instructor of speech communication at K-State. "This event is designed to show that the president is someone who works hard to provide for the university and to provide a lasting legacy of academic excellence."

First recognized as an active team on the national debate circuit in the 1950s, the K-State debate team qualified for the National Debate Tournament once in the 1950s and again in the 1960s. The team continued to receive numerous accolades throughout the 1970s but became virtually dormant from 1980-85.

The program was then rebuilt and the team climbed back to prominence, earning the Cross Examination Debate Association national championship in both 1991 and 1993. The team finished the 1990s with several achievements and has continued to find success.

"K-State Debate's 2004-2005 team finished 68th overall, but just one year later, the team finished 32nd, which was the biggest turn around of any such program in the country," Green said.

The team had a successful fall 2006 season, receiving first-, second- or third-place finishes in an eight-tournament season. The team closed the fall semester ranked seventh in the country.

With such achievement came the need for a new team facility -- a need recognized by Wefald himself, Green said.

"Since my arrival in fall 2005, we have added more than 15 debaters to the squad," Green said. "The old room, which was designed to be a professor's office, simply could not fit the debate team in it without breaking the fire code. After talking with President Wefald about this concern, he thought our nationally competitive debate team deserved a nationally competitive debate center."

Team members decided to name the new center in Wefald's honor to recognize his longtime support of the K-State debate program, Green said.

"President Wefald has been a supporter of the debate team since he arrived at K-State. He has said during many a speech that academics are as important as athletics, and it is not uncommon for him to refer to our nationally ranked football and debate teams in the same sentence," Green said.

"Wefald genuinely cares about the success of our squad and recognizes that K-State Debate serves as a forum to demonstrate the fine academics our university offers. He has used his energy and personal resources to make sure that our new squad room is a success," Green said.