Lecturer, Assistant Director of Debate
Patrick joined the University of Miami in 2013 as the Assistant Director of Debate and a Lecturer in the School of Communication. Prior to joining the faculty at UM, Patrick served as the Debate Coach and Lecturer in Communication at Boston College.
Patrick is currently the President for the Cross Examination Debate Association, Vice President for the American Debate Association, the Vice Chair to the Sixth District of the National Debate Tournament and is on the Board of Directors for Dade Debate, Inc.
Patrick received his B.A. in Politics at The Catholic University of America in 2003. As a debater, Patrick won several tournaments including the 2003 Varsity American Debate Association National Championship and was a two-time qualifier to the National Debate Tournament. Patrick received his M.A. in Communication at Wake Forest University in 2005, where he was a Graduate Assistant for the debate team.
During his time coaching at UM, the debate team has won several tournaments including the ACC Debate Tournament, the Lafayette Debates, the Georgia State Debate Tournament, the Henry Clay Debates at the University of Kentucky, the intra-Florida Sunshine State Showdown, the University of Indiana Debate Tournament, the Southeast Region of the Cross Examination Debate Association and the American Debate Association Fall Championship. The debate team is now nationally ranked and were runners-up (2014; 2019) & in the final four (2017) at the American Debate Association National Championship Tournament.
Patrick also teaches debate over the summer to middle school and high school students. This past summer, he taught at UM’s own Hurricane Debate Institute (HDI), the Gonzaga Debate Institute and the Miami Dade Urban Debate League Summer Camp hosted at UM. In the past, Patrick has also taught at the Capitol Classic, the Wake Forest Debate Workshop, Millennial Speech & Debate Institute, Spartan Debate Institute and the Harvard Debate Council Summer Workshop.
In 2013, the Fulton Debating Society at Boston College awared Patrick as the Fultonian of the Year. In 2016, the American Debate Association awarded him The Founder’s Award for Service.
Links
University of Miami Debate Team
Featured Projects
I Do Solemnly Swear: Presidential Inaugural Addresses of the Last Forty Years