General Information

Our team has a strong tradition of competitive success. Concordia’s forensics team regularly wins state championships and places in top tiers at Nationals. We welcome competitors of all skill and experience levels. In the last few years, our novice and junior varsity competitors have been in elimination rounds at Emporia and KCKCC

Our Speech and Debate program is housed under the CSTA (communication studies and theatre arts) department. As a result, there’s a strong institutional backing of the program. Our team members typically excel academically as well, transferring their research, writing, speech and critical thinking skills to the classroom. In fact, we’ve boasted a 100-percent four-year graduation rate for more than 20 years. Students who competed all eight semesters graduated at the end of that time.

In addition to frequent meetings, practices, coach sessions and competitions for its members, the forensics program sponsors these activities:

  • Minnesota Zeta chapter of Pi Kappa Delta
  • W.E. Lillo Debate Tournament for high school students
  • “Talk of the Tundra” Tournament for college students

To reward a job well done and encourage participation in forensics, the college awards two $10,000 scholarships each year during the W.E. Lillo Debate Tournament. These non-need based scholarships are based on Lillo Tournament performance and other criteria. Concordia Debate and Speech Scholarships are also awarded each year.

The program is directed by Dr. Fred Sternhagen, with assistant coaches Jason Regnier (Debate), Megan Orcholski (Speech), and Adam Knowlton(Speech).

Contact us if you’re interested in learning more about our program.

Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students