Professional Organizations
• Member of the Western States Communication Association
• Northwest Forensics Association
• Gillespie serves on the executive council of the Northwest Intercollegiate Debate League

Web Presence
• Top Google searched Gary Gillespie in the world.
• He created NU's first student activity web page when the Eagle Debate page was posted in 1999.
• He also posted the first web page for any major at Northwest the spring of 2003 – the Communication Major web page.
• Gillespie posted a web page featuring student work called the Stratagem: Anthology of Communication Studies, first launched in May of 2002. This page features best speeches and papers of students.
• He designed the Eagle Debate Research page and the World Debate Research page with extensive links to sources for student research.
• His fitness page encourages students to be healthy.
• He designed and edits the Headwaters: Insight on Native Ethnography.

Debate Coaching Achievements
• Gillespie has second longest tenure of all debate coaches in the five northwest states.
• He received the Northwest Forensics Association Educator of the Year award in 2005.
• Second Place World Style Debate, Pi Kappa Delta Tournament of the Great West, March 2010.
• Four students students attend tournaments at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in November, 2010.
• Fourth Place Oregon State University World Style Debate, February 14, 2009
• Fourth Place Hawaii Pacific University Pan Pacific Championships, October 18, 2008
• Second place at end of the tournament at Mt Hood College April 2007. Only institution with two teams in final four.
•  Seven students attend international tournaments at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the World Championships at the University of British Columbia in November and December, 2006.
• The Northwest debate team ranks in the top 13 percent of the nation in 2004 among the 357 colleges and universities in the National Parliamentary Debate Association.
• The Eagle Debate team made final rounds at NPDA national tournament from 1996 to 2006.
• 2006 Team captain Jordan Goddard Harvard Law School graduate.
• 2004 Team captain Jon King was ranked as the 15th best speaker out of 624 at the 2004 national tournament.
• 2002 Team captain Josh Brittingham UCLA Law School graduate.
• The team placed tenth in the nation in 2000.
More Debate Achievements

International and Public Debates
Professor Gillespie organized the following public debates held before audiences of 50 to 150. Most are covered by the local media.

•  Chinese National Debate Team, April 2010 for debates on campus and at the Microsoft PAC.
• Irish National Debate Team for debates at the Kirkland City Hall, Microsoft PAC and on campus. April 9, 2008
• Public debate with Harvard, Portland State and Seattle University, September 26, 2008
• Alumni Debate on Creationism in the schools with guest speaker form the Discovery Institute April 14, 2007 on campus.
•  Oxford University Student body president and chair of the Oxford Debating Society for three debates at the Redmond and Kirkland City Halls and the Microsoft PAC January 4 and 5, 2007.
•  British National Debating Team vs. Northwest University, September 20, 2004. Topics included the election and the war in Iraq.
•  Chapel Debates. Almost each year the Eagle Debate team presented public debates on for the student body. Topics included the presidential election, capital punishment (twice), cloning, effects of television, and the Harry Potter books.
•  Program wins a $750 grant from the International Debate Education Association for a chapel debate on international aspects of the presidential election in September of 2004.
• Puget Sound Home School Debate League district tournament, November 29, 2003. Thirty students from the area gathered for six rounds of debate on the topic of US policy concerning protectorate nations.
• Alumni vs. Students debate, September 11, 2003. Topic: “The USA Patriot Act has gone too far.”
• Irish National Debate Team vs. Northwest College, April 2, 2003. Topic: “Forget France.”
• University of British Columbia Debating Society vs. Northwest College, September 19, 2002. Topic: “This house would hold food manufacturers responsible for the obesity epidemic.”
• Puget Sound Home-school Debate League regional tournament on December 2, 2001. 70 high school students took part and our students judged. The topic for the debates throughout the day was agricultural policy.
• University of British Columbia Debating Society vs. Northwest College, September 14, 2000. Topic: This house would make British Columbia part of the United States.
• British National Debating Team vs. Northwest College, November 4, 1999. Topic: This house would admit China into the World Trade Organization.

Successful Students and Graduates
• Gideon Copple, (NU graduate May 2006) is now a Junior Staff for the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. He formerly served as intern with the United Nations Association Internship program, a highly competitive position normally reserved for law school students or graduates from well known universities. The internship is with the American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC), an organization under the auspices of the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA). More at AMICC's website

• Jordan Goddard, debate team captain 2004 -- 2005, graduated from Harvard University Law School the fall of 2008 and now practices law for the Social Security Administration in Seattle.

Jordan scored in the top two percent on the LSAT law school admissions test.  He joins another Northwest alumnus Josh Davies who is in his third year at Harvard Law School. Jordan serves as President of the Eagle Debate Alumni Association. More here.

Josh Brittingham, a 2000 graduate, was elected debate team captain. He was selected to be the student commencement speaker. He applied and was accepted to attend Notre Dame Law School and UCLA Law School and attributes much of his success to skills learned as a debate.  He now practices law in Seattle. 

• Roger Altizer, a 1997 graduate, spent three years teaching English with the JET program in Japan, then applied and was accepted in doctoral program in Communication at the University of Utah the fall of 2003. Roger was our top debater for two years. Roger completed his Master's program where he served as an assistant debate coach.  He is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Utah and is a nationally known expert in internet communication and video games.

More Former Students

Program Development
Working with colleagues designed the Communication Major with five concentrations – in drama, film studies, organizational communication, media studies and public affairs. The major attracted nearly 100 students in 2010 -- one of the largest on campus.

Personal
Gillespie lives near campus with his wife Teresa, an attorney and Dean of the Northwest University Graduate School of Business and Management. Interests include gardening, fitness, hiking, fishing, and creative writing.

More about Prof. Gillespie

Gary Gillespie

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