Democratically Speaking

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Karla Leeper: chair and assistant professor of communication studies, director of forensics for the Glenn R. Capp Debate Forum, The Glenn R. Capp Professor of Forensics

"It's the idea that you take a position, you are willing to engage in vigorous discussion with someone who holds an opposite position, and out of all that discussion you come to a reasoned conclusion," she says. "Sometimes your position is the better one and sometimes it's not, but you're willing to engage in the process to figure out what that is."

Leeper, a recognized scholar and former president of the American Forensics Association, came to Baylor in 1991 after completing her doctorate at the University of Kansas. Her research in presidential discourse about foreign policy in Iraq studies the rhetoric of President George W. Bush and its impact on how the public reacts to the countries involved. She also is evaluating the media's coverage of female soldiers and how it affects public opinion.

"I try to make students aware of all the ways in which the world is trying to influence them - videos, music, commercials, etc.," says Leeper, who teaches classes in rhetoric and contemporary culture that deal with her research topics. "I try to make them more critical consumers of that and better producers of those messages."

As acting chair of the department since June 2004, she has worked with members of her faculty to develop an international telecommunication symposium held on campus and to expand the department's course offerings and opportunities for students.

Community involvement also is important to Leeper. She has been active with GEAR UP Waco, and in summer 2004, she accompanied a group of public high school students from Waco's George Washington Carver Academy to Washington, D.C., as part of Project Democracy. The students debated the role of the federal government in education at the organization's national conference. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a comprehensive, collaborative initiative focused on preparing at-risk students academically and socially for college.

Leeper says that Baylor is supportive of her involvement in the GEAR UP program, high school debate workshops she holds on campus and other community-focused programs and research: "Some universities wouldn't value that kind of community involvement, but Baylor does."

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