Worth Sharing: Speech and Debate Team Take Center Stage at Pi Kappa Delta Nationals

The following is a listing of professional achievements by Chico State faculty, staff, and students. Submit your professional achievements to ucomm@csuchico.edu. 

Awards, Honors, and Activities 

The Chico State Speech and Debate team returned from a highly successful trip to Glendale, Arizona for the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament. The team, consisting of journalism major Madison Gillen and communication studies major Millie Kinnamont, won the highly competitive National Title for Duo Interpretation category, besting a field of 41 other duo teams. Chico State was represented in the showcase performances (an opportunity for all participants to see the top performing speeches and debates at the tournament) by communication studies major Rafael Fogo-Schensul, who earned 10th place, and Kinnamont, who placed 8th out of 51 competitors in the Programmed Oral Interpretation category. 

Butte College faculty member and lecturer in Chico State’s music, theatre and dance department, Ryan Heimlich (Music, ’08; Teaching Credential, ’08), was recently named the California Music Educators Association John Swain College/University Educator of the Year. Celebrating excellence in music education at the college and university level, this award recognizes Heimlich’s achievements in the classroom and his dedication to students. In addition to teaching studio instruction and music theory, Heimlich serves as chair of the performing arts department and director of bands at Butte College.  

 The Chico History Museum, the Chico Heritage Association (CHA), and the Bidwell Mansion Association recently recognized Michael Magliari (Department of History) for his decades of dedication and sustained efforts to preserve, research, and record Chico’s history. Magliari was presented with an award of recognition at the CHA’s annual meeting in a surprise ceremony attended by interested citizens and local historians. 

Publications, Presentations, and Exhibits 

Stephen Lewis (Department of History) has published his latest classroom textbook for Wiley-Blackwell, “Mexico’s Unscripted Revolutions: Political and Social Change Since 1958,” in which Lewis offers “a well-argued—and provocative—presentation of Mexico’s recent ‘unofficial’ grassroots revolutions.”