Honoring the Memory of Dr. J.W. PattersonMay 9, 1928 - December 30, 2023
Dr. J.W. Patterson devoted his entire career to the instruction of students from all across the country in the field of speech, debate, and forensics. His career spanned sixty years, including nine years as Director of Debate and Forensics at Muskogee Central High School, Muskogee, Oklahoma; one year as Director of Debate at the University of Arizona, and forty years as Director of Debate and Forensics at the University of Kentucky.
While at Muskogee, he founded the prestigious Little Nationals Debate Tournament, which attracted each year over five hundred debaters from numerous states.
His students won over one hundred tournaments in various debate and speech events, including two National Forensic League Championships in extemporaneous speaking.
Kentucky Debate
Dr. Patterson became the Director of the University of Kentucky Debate and Forensics Program in 1971. Throughout the next decade, he recruited some of the most highly talented high school debaters from across the country and built one of the most dominant debate programs in the country.
Over the next 40 years, the University of Kentucky earned a national reputation for excellence in debate, competing against the nation’s most prestigious institutions and producing multiple generations of award-winning debaters.
"It is fair to say that no one has had a bigger footprint on the world of speech and debate than Dr. J.W. Patterson."
Dave Arnette, Director
University of Kentucky Debate Program
Under his leadership, the UK debate program received 21 first-round bids to the National Debate Tournament and had six top speakers at the tournament, the second-highest number in the tournament’s history. His teams brought home a national championship in 1986, a runner-up in 2002 and a Copeland Award in 1994. Remarkably, the Patterson era included top 10 teams in four different decades.
It is fair to say that no one has had a bigger footprint on the world of speech and debate than Dr. J.W. Patterson. His legacy spans generations and has touched the lives of thousands of students and colleagues. Dr. Patterson was an elite debate coach, a passionate educator, and the brilliant architect of what would become the modern ecosystem of competitive debate in this country.
In 1972, Dr. Patterson founded the highly esteemed National Tournament of Champions with the intention of bringing together the best high school debaters in the country to compete in an event that would serve as the pinnacle of the debate season. Beginning as a small competition with 64 teams, the tournament, now named in Patterson’s honor, hosts close to 2000 students every spring.
Dr. Patterson also started the Kentucky National High School Debate Institute and soon after, the High School Fellows Program, an invitation-only program that provided full scholarships to the top twelve debaters in the country to a three-week summer program. He later founded the nationally acclaimed Henry Clay College Debate Tournament and the prestigious Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin, which still attracts the top seven college teams in America to Lexington, Kentucky every October.
In 1983, Dr. Patterson co-authored a textbook, "Contemporary Debate," with his professional colleague and longtime close friend, Dr. David Zarefsky, professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University. He was active in various speech and debate organizations throughout the country, including the National Debate Tournament Committee, and he served several terms as President of the Kentucky Speech Association.
In addition to his work in debate, Dr. Patterson served as the faculty advisor for the University of Kentucky Student Government Association and he left an indelible mark during his remarkable 40-year tenure. To generations of UK’s student leaders, he was more than an advisor; he was a trusted friend, wise mentor, and beloved advocate on issues big and small.
Dr. Patterson also started the Kentucky National High School Debate Institute and soon after, the High School Fellows Program, an invitation-only program that provided full scholarships to the top twelve debaters in the country to a three-week summer program. He later founded the nationally acclaimed Henry Clay College Debate Tournament and the prestigious Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin, which still attracts the top seven college teams in America to Lexington, Kentucky every October.
In 1983, Dr. Patterson co-authored a textbook, "Contemporary Debate," with his professional colleague and longtime close friend, Dr. David Zarefsky, professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University. He was active in various speech and debate organizations throughout the country, including the National Debate Tournament Committee, and he served several terms as President of the Kentucky Speech Association.
In addition to his work in debate, Dr. Patterson served as the faculty advisor for the University of Kentucky Student Government Association and he left an indelible mark during his remarkable 40-year tenure. To generations of UK’s student leaders, he was more than an advisor; he was a trusted friend, wise mentor, and beloved advocate on issues big and small.
Dr. Patterson's impact extended far beyond the confines of academics.
He played a pivotal role in shaping the character of student, leaving an enduring legacy that is reflected in the countless change-makers he influenced, the majority of whom maintained contact with him well into his 90’s.
With a remarkable gift for relating to people of all ages from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, Dr. Patterson acquired friends literally everywhere he went. His greatest thrill was connecting with others and learning their stories, experiences, and unique perspectives.
In one way or another, Dr. Patterson brought hundreds of people together, many of whom formed life-long friendships as a result. This is arguably his most enduring lesson for all who knew him.
Debate Changes Lives
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The J.W. Patterson Foundation, Inc. is incorporated in the state of Kentucky and is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization as described by 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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