In this opinion piece, Vincent L. Stephens, CAS associate dean for diversity and inclusion, writes about the educational and developmental benefits of competitive speech and debate programs for high school and college students.
The Texas A&M University System was one of the first six Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) awardees. All current members of the Alliance are part of the Texas A&M University System. Many high impact practices (HIP) have been emphasized in Alliance’s 30 years of programming with Diversity/Global Learning as a focus in the last 14 years. Diversity/Global learning has been supported in two formats on the Alliance campuses, through traditional study abroad programming and a College of Engineering initiative. Data presented was derived from a number of sources, project evaluation gathered information regarding student perspectives and outcomes, survey research conducted by an independent party, and institutional data accessed to assess student outcomes. Triangulation was completed between data sets. Results indicate both forms of programming were efficacious for underrepresented and first-generation students. Outcomes reported were substantial increases in a