‘Brilliant’ University of Kentucky debate coach, professor JW Patterson dies at 95
Longtime University of Kentucky professor and debate team coach JW Patterson has died, the university announced.
Patterson was 95. He was the debate team director from 1971 until his retirement in 2009, building a top-ranked university debate team in that time. Patterson also founded several debate tournaments and organizations, including the Tournament of Champions, the Kentucky National High School Debate Institute and the Henry Clay College Debate Tournament.
“It is fair to say that no one has ever had a bigger footprint on the world of speech and debate,” said David Arnett, current director of UK Debate, in a statement. “Dr. Patterson’s legacy spans generations and has touched the lives of thousands.”
Patterson was a high school and college debate instructor for nearly 60 years in multiple states.
Under Patterson, the UK debate team sent 21 first-round teams to the National Debate Tournament and had six top speakers at the tournament, the second-highest number of all time, according to the university.
The team won the national championship in 1986, was runner-up in 2002 and won a Copeland Award, given to the top-ranked team in the nation, in 1994, according to UK.
“He was an elite debate coach, a passionate educator and the brilliant architect of what would become the modern competitive debate ecosystem in this country,” Arnett said. “What I will remember him for most, though, is his love of friends and community.”
Patterson was a native of Oklahoma who taught high school before earning graduate degrees from the universities of Michigan and Oklahoma. He joined UK’s faculty in 1960 in the Department of Communication.
While at UK, he served as a special assistant to President John Oswald and directed the university’s 100th birthday celebrations, which included more than 100 events throughout the year and a visit from President Lyndon B. Johnson, according to Herald-Leader archives. He was also the student government adviser for many years, beginning in 1964.
Services for Patterson will be held at the end of this month or in early February, the university said.
This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 2:41 PM.