University of Oregon National Debate Champs!

The University of Oregon forensics program, hosted in the Robert D. Clark Honors College, won another national championship in intercollegiate debate. Buoyed by four of the nation’s top ranked teams and a second consecutive trip to the national final, the University of Oregon was recognized as the top scoring program at The National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) championship tournament held March 27th - 30th in Stockton California.

Robert D. Clark Honor’s College student Hailey Sheldon and her partner, sophomore Matt Gander, lost in the national championship final. The NPDA attracted 250 debate teams representing over 80 colleges and universities from across the United States, including teams from University of California, Berkeley; University of Washington; Whitman College and Carlton College. The last Oregon national championship came in 2003 when students Alan Tauber and Heidi Ford won the invitation-only National Parliamentary Tournament of excellence.