Out of 170 participating schools, Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #1 for the 2015-2016 NPDA Debate Tournament season. NPDA stands for the National Parliamentary Debate Association. It is the largest national intercollegiate debate organization in the United States. Between 200 and 250 schools attend at least one tournament during the year.
The purpose of the NPDA is to encourage extemporaneous two-on-two debates. Debate styles vary from traditional public-centered debates to more policy-oriented debates. The goal of the NPDA is to foster more knowledgeable and engaged citizens. Point Loma participated in four separate tournaments over the course of the year for a total of 127.26 points, followed closely by the University of Texas–Tyler at 120.01 points and Irvine Valley College at 118.42 points.
Point Loma is known for being forward thinking and for preparing its students to think, act and contribute to the world. PLNU’s Speech and Debate team has been a national champion in the National Parliamentary Debate Associations’ year-long sweepstakes competition four out of the last seven years, competing against such schools as UC Berkeley and UCLA. The NPDA National Championship Tournament will be hosted in mid-March.
For those PLNU students looking to see what the Speech and Debate team is all about, PLNU will be hosting a Christian home school speech and debate tournament the week prior to classes starting Thursday, January 7th, and continuing through Saturday, January 9th. The debate will be open to the public.
As for the Fermanian School of Business at PLNU, its daytime and evening MBA programs are perfect for recent grads and business professionals. The school’s goal is to produce graduates who will assume leadership roles in professions, communities and the world. The programs help students further develop the ability to think analytically and strategically, as well as improve their quantitative, communicative and problem-solving skills. These attributes are highly sought after by business, nonprofit and governmental organizations.