Forensics History and Alumni

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Forensics Team is a time consisting of a long and exciting history. Since the team's inception in 1944, the UW-Eau Claire's Forensics team is one of the longest running Forensics programs in the nation. Every year, the team grows and the legacy lives on.

UW-Eau Claire's chapter of Pi Kappa Delta was chartered in 1951. The Wisconsin Zeta chapter charter was signed by Grace Walsh, one of Eau Claire's most treasured former coaches.

Grace, originally from St. Paul, MN, taught speech and coached forensics at UW-Eau Claire for 36 years. She received a bachelor's degree in education from UW-Superior in 1932 and a master's degree in philosophy from UW-Madison in 1939.

As a professor and director of forensics, she coached 25 state oratory champions and six national champions before retiring in 1980. She also coached 11 Wisconsin forensics champions, and no other state team beat UW-Eau Claire while the team was under her supervision. She was also the co-founder of the speech department and served as its chair for some time.

Grace also played a key role in developing many of the events and activities that are now standard conventions of the competitive speech world. For more than 50 years, forensics educators at UW-Eau Claire have strived to live up to the standard of excellence Grace established.

The annual Grace Walsh Individual Events College Forensics Tournament was named in her honor. She also was named an honorary member of UW-Eau Claire's alumni.

On April 24, 2000, Grace Walsh passed away at the age of 89. When team members visited Grace in December 1998, she said, "Be proud of what you do and don't take out junk!" The team has worked hard to follow her advice.

Thanks to Grace's leadership, UW-Eau Claire is one of only a few schools to have competed at every NFA and AFA since their inceptions, as well as to consistently place in the top ten.

Forensics Alumni 

Our forensics team works hand-in hand with their alumni, a group of talented individuals who give back so much to their team. Some alumni stay around to coach the team, while others make frequent trips back to assist with team events, judge at nearby tournaments, or attend alumni work days. We've had so many members in our historic legacy and we are lucky to have so many stay in touch. Their continued support is essential to maintaining our history and defining who we are. 

Who Are Our Alumni? (Coming Soon)

Awards

We have some dedicated, passionate, and inspiring students participating as members of the forensics team. We love to recognize the students who go above and beyond, stick with us through their entire college careers, and make the forensics team better than when they started. Our awards help us do that.

Outstanding Varsity Award

Many of our members compete for all four years and devote all of their free time and effort into the forensics program. Some members of the team go above and beyond expectations. Typically, the Outstanding Varsity Award is given to a fourth-year senior member. This is an important award, given to those members on team to truly deserve acknowledgment for all of their success, devotion and passion to this team.

Outstanding Academic Achievement Award

As a co-curricular activity, the first and main focus for the members of the Forensics team is academics. While it's easy to get swept away by the commitment and devotion to the Forensics program, students must maintain a 2.5 GPA in order to stay on the Forensics team. However, the members of our team hold a high GPA, and hold a high passion for academics. The Outstanding Academic Achievement award is a pristine award, given to those students on team, who exceed academic expectations.

Outstanding Novice Award

While all members of the UW-Eau Claire's Forensics team reach different levels of success and excellence throughout their careers, some students, as novice, exceed expectations. The Outstanding Novice Award is an award given to a first-year forensics team member who has gone above and beyond expectations.

Pillar Award

As members within a society and community of excellence, the UW-Eau Claire's Forensics Team works closely with members of the community, whether they are bell-ringing around the holidays, trick-or-treating for canned goods, or raising money for charities. As much as the Forensics team works to give back to the community, there some members within the community that give back to us. The Pillar Award is the newest of our team awards, designed to honor those people in our community that contribute to the Forensics program with their support, teachings, and contributions.

Reconnect with UWEC Forensics

Have you been missing your UWEC Forensics news and want to reconnect? Just reach out to director of forensics Chris Outzen at outzencp@uwec.edu to get an invite to our alumni group on Facebook and to be added to our email list. 

Additionally you can follow along with our updates from the year on Facebook and Instagram, which you can find below!