Dr. Sydney Pasquinelli
Biography
Dr. Sydney Pasquinelli has been teaching in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University since 2019. She teaches classes in two sub-departments: Communication Studies, and Media Arts & Studies.
In addition to teaching in the Department of Communication, Dr. Pasquinelli also serves as the Director of Debate at Wayne State University. Specifically, she coordinates and oversees all competitive policy debate activities, including traveling with the team for intercollegiate debate tournaments, as well as hosting an intercollegiate debate tournament on campus each Fall.
She is also the program director of the Detroit Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide the resources and the space for Detroit-based high schools to participate in competitive interscholastic debate. Dr. Pasquinelli uses her dual positions as Director of Debate at WSU and Program Director of the Detroit Urban Debate League, to facilitate the hosting of league meetings for Detroit students on Wayne’s campus. For more information, visit our website: www.detroitdebate.org.
Before accepting her position at Wayne State University, Professor Pasquinelli taught in the Department of Rhetoric & Communication at the University of Pittsburgh. Classes taught: Argument, Debate, Interpersonal Communication, Public Speaking, Theories of Persuasion, TV & Society.
Sydney has been coaching competitive policy debate since she was an undergraduate student! Before assuming her position as Director of Debate at WSU, she worked as an assistant coach for the following high school & collegiate debate programs:
● Edgemont Jr/Sr High School / Scarsdale, NY
● Stanford University / Stanford, CA
● University of Pittsburgh / Pittsburgh, PA
● University of Oklahoma / Norman, OK
● Wake Forest University / Winston-Salem, NC
● Wylie E. Groves High School / Beverly Hills, MI
When she is not teaching college classes in the fall and winter semesters, Professor Pasquinelli teaches high school students at Summer Debate Camps. Dr. Pasquinelli has taught at the following Institutes:
● University of Michigan Debate Camp (2022, 2021, 2020)
● Stanford National Forensic Institute (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015)
● University of North Texas “Mean Green” Debate Camp (2014)
● University of Missouri Kansas City Debate Institute (2013)
● Michigan State University Spartan Debate Institute (2008, 2006, 2005)
Degrees and Certifications
PhD, Rhetoric & Communication, University of Pittsburgh (2018)
MA, Communication, Wake Forest University (2011)
BA, Political Science, Wayne State University (2009)