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  Web Drake, Debate Coach & Associate Professor of Communication ArtsE-mail: wdrake@uu.eduThe ability to communicate your ideas is the most essential proficiency in life. It is also the skill and art that drives Web Drake. As Associate Professor of both Speech and Theatre and Director of Debate, Web has dedicated his career to public communication. The Speech major is currently receiving a major overhaul. New courses are being added to the curriculum almost every semester. Students are being given the opportunity to focus on public communication in ways never before offered at Union. Drake will be teaching courses in argumentation, persuasion, negotiation, and advanced public speaking. “No matter their ultimate career goals or objectives, students must be able to communicate their ideas in public forums in order to achieve any measure of success,” Drake claims. “Our curriculum is designed to give them the skills the job market requires.” Theatre is the second area of interest for Drake. As a director, playwright, and actor, Drake approaches theatre holistically. His desire is to give students the skills necessary to succeed in theatre while also showing them how those skills can be utilized in all areas of their lives, both professional and personal. According to Drake, “Theatre is an intensely personal art form. I love it because it allows me the kinds of ‘teachable moments’ about which classroom teachers can only dream.” Drake attempts to use his productions to point his audiences towards higher values, deeper thought, and stronger feelings. In the fall of 2008, Drake began the Union Debate Team. This scholarship team competes in the International Public Debate Association. The team has seen almost instant success in the form of tournament champions, speaker award winners, and even sweepstakes honors. Drake says that debate is the ultimate integrator of knowledge. It is taught as much by modeling and molding as by explicit instruction. “My favorite part of coaching debate is the relationships that I build with the best and brightest that Union has to offer. I wouldn’t trade those relationships for anything in the world.” Drake received his undergraduate degree from Mississippi College before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the University of North Texas, and Louisiana State University where he earned the doctoral degree in Communication Studies. He has served on the Governing Board of the International Public Debate Association, and writes and researches in both theatre and rhetoric. His primary aim is demonstrating how faith influences and is influenced by his fields of study. He is married to Sharon Peterson Drake and has two children, Lauren, 6, and Jon David, 4.
Blog Postings
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PRSAA Meeting Nov 18, 3:00pm: Jennings Hall Room 225
Zombies From The Beyond Nov 17, 8:00pm: W.D. Powell Theatre PRSSA Nashville trip Nov 17, 8:00am Meeting with Nashville's PRSA Zombies From The Beyond Nov 16, 8:00pm: W.D. Powell Theatre Digital Media Festival Nov 16, 7:00pm: Jennings 207 Submit your digital media to compete for cash prizes - and it's free! Submit in categories ranging from Graphic Design to Digital Art to CD/DVDs to Websites to Programming. If it is digital, we want to celebrate it! Your work will be judged by a wide range of digital media practitioners. Who know, you might get discovered by a potential employer.: more event info Zombies From The Beyond Nov 15, 2:30pm: W.D. Powell Theatre Zombies From The Beyond Nov 14, 8:00pm: W.D. Powell Theatre Zombies From The Beyond Nov 13, 8:00pm: W.D. Powell Theatre Zombies From The Beyond Nov 12, 8:00pm: W.D. Powell Theatre Union Film Society meeting Nov 12, 7:00pm: PAC D-3 Come to the Union Film Societies first meeting to find out what we are all about. Learn how your major can be used in the art of film making.: more event info | ||||
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