The Faculty of DeSales University strongly encourage full-time traditional undergraduate day students to enter the Academic Excellence Address Competition described below.
Introduction: The Academic Excellence Address Award is given each year to encourage, acknowledge, and reward academic excellence in public speaking. The winner presents his/her speech at the Academic Excellence Ceremony Liturgy held in the Connelly Chapel on Sunday, April 19, 2015, at 1:30 p.m.
Eligibility: All full-time traditional undergraduate day students are eligible. A student who wins the competition may not compete in subsequent years.
Nomination: Each of the four academic divisions nominates two students who are majoring in a discipline offered by the division, with the exception of the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Division which may nominate three students because of its size. Each division holds a competition in a public forum which is announced and open to the entire DeSales community. The full-time faculty members in the division choose two (three from the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Division) students from the competing major students within the division.
Length of Speech: The speech must be at least five minutes and at most ten minutes in length.
Audio-Visuals: No audio-visual material may be used.
Awards: Each student who enters the competition is awarded two tickets to an Act 1 performance in the Labuda Theatre. The winner of the competition receives a check for $500.
Selection of Winner: The nine contestants representing the four academic divisions present their speeches for the division heads on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, at 4:00 p.m. in the Hurd Science Center Auditorium.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Delivery (articulation, poise, enthusiasm, rapport with audience), 1 to 5 points
- Appropriateness (to audience of students, faculty, and family members), 1 to 5 points
- Organization, development of topic, comprehensibility, 1 to 5 points
- Length over 10 minutes or under 5 minutes, -2 points
Please direct your questions to the head of the division or chair of the department of your major.
Dr. Karen Doyle Walton
Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs
