First woman of color to be elected president of a national speech and debate organization.

President, Pi Kappa Delta

Faculty of the Year

New Forensics Educator Award

Dedicated Service Award

National Communication Association

Eastern Communication Association 

Central States Communication Association

Pi Kappa Delta Honorary National Forensics Association

National Association of Professional Women

American Bioethics and Humanities Association

American Public Health Association

Book Articles & Chapters

Service-Learning and Forensics: A Systematic Literature Review

Digitizing Forensics: Coaching the Net Generation

Religious and Genomics/Genetics Beliefs: An Exploratory Study

Topics of Interest:

2013-Present

Research collaboration with the Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba, Brazil

2015-Present

Research collaboration with University of Montana & the University of Southern Mississippi

Hofstra University's primary mission is to provide a quality education to its students in an environment that encourages, nurtures, and supports learning. At Hofstra, new ideas take shape through collaboration, engagement, and interaction. Hofstra students create their success with small classes and dedicated faculty, alongside a beautiful campus, plus all the opportunities of New York City within easy reach.

Our faculty are Fulbright Scholars, Emmy Award winners, successful entrepreneurs, groundbreaking scientists, pioneering educators, best-selling authors, and C-suite business executives. They are contributing to significant advances in bio-medical engineering, researching new ways to bring technology into the classroom, leading disaster response and conflict resolution efforts across the globe, and inspiring students to use their talents to serve the community.

Hofstra University

Dr. Tomeka Robinson is the Senior Associate Dean of the Rabinowitz Honors College & Professor of Rhetoric and Public Advocacy. When not hard at work in the Honors College Dean’s Office, she teaches courses in honors college and public speaking for Hofstra’s NOAH Program. Dr. Robinson has taken an active role in professional and civic organizations throughout her career. She served on the National Council of Pi Kappa Delta National Forensics Honorary Association (speech and debate) for 12 years, including leading the organization as President for a term. She is the first person of color to hold the position of President in any national collegiate speech and debate organization.

During her tenure as the Director of Forensics at Hofstra, she served on a number of speech & debate executive boards: International Forensics Association, Interstate Oratorical Association, and the Southern & Northern Atlantic Forensics Unions, and national committees: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion committee of the National Forensics Association and part of the National Developmental Conference on Individual Events Planning Committee. For her service to the speech and debate community, she was inducted in the National Forensics Association Hall of Fame in 2021 and received the E.R. Nicholas Excellence in Teaching from Pi Kappa Delta National Forensics Honorary Association in 2022. Additionally, she is currently one of the founding members of the Long Island Community and Academic Research Partnership, which focuses on bridging the gap between the community and academics on issues of health disparities.

In all of her copious amounts of free time, she is also still very actively involved in several research projects with colleagues across the globe on projects focused on global health risk and the impact of race on health. Additionally, she has been invited to give several lectures and media interviews throughout the US and Brazil on health, culture, and race within the last few years.

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WorldChangers: Hofstra's Speech and Debate Team

WorldChangers: Beyond Words: Hofstra Forensics Competes in First Global Tournament

Long Islanders frustrated by constant COVID-19 changes to CDC guidelines

Juneteenth: What You Need to Know About America's Newest Federal Holiday | The Debrief

Juneteenth declared a national holiday

Shelving Dr. Seuss

Kamala Harris’ Rise to the White House

Protesters, Experts Say Counter-Demonstrations To ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement Miss Important Message

Black Lives Matter movement

Takeaways from the Biden-Sanders March 15 Democratic debate

Takeaways from the Democrats' Las Vegas debate

Painful History of Blackface

Presidential Debate, Sept. 26, 2016

Hofstra Prepares On Eve Of First Debate Between Trump, Clinton

Not Just Hillary: Young Women In Debate Face Sexism, Double Standards

Ebola Outbreak

Days after a gunman killed 17 people in parkland, fla., sandy phillips, who advocates for gun restrictions, was encouraged by how openly student survivors wanted to discuss the shooting and push measures to try to prevent similar incidents. that's not the case in santa fe.

2 school shootings, 2 different gun debates: unlike parkland, santa fe response is more muted

The May 18th school shooting that killed 10 people in Santa Fe, Texas comes just three months after a gunman opened fire and killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. While the Florida shooting galvanized its students into activists for stricter gun control and sparked a national movement, teens in Texas have been less willing to point the finger at guns as the cause of mass violence. They argue that those who want to do harm will find ways around gun laws, and instead say issues such as school security and mental health issues should be examined. 

The stark differences in their response reflect how the gun control debate has deeply divided the country.  Will students across the nation who marched under the banner of #NeverAgain and spoke out against the National Rifle Association be able to sustain their movement?  Will it have any impact on NRA-supporting politicians in the November mid-elections? Can student activism advance an agenda that adults have been unable to achieve? 

Hofstra has experts who can help you put this movement, as well as the gun control debate behind it, into political and social context:

•	Aashish Kumar, co-director of Hofstra’s Center for Civic Engagement, can discuss how student activism is crucial to the active citizenship that is at the heart of any thriving democracy.

•	Tomeka Robinson, associate professor of rhetoric and director of Hofstra’s speech and debate team, can address the role of rhetoric and public advocacy in swaying public opinion and shaping policy.

•	Alan Singer, professor in the School of Education and expert on social issues in public education, can discuss the measures proposed to improve school safety, including the president’s suggestion to arm school teachers. Professor Singer was also a high school teacher for 15 years.

•	Constitutional law professor Eric Freedman can discuss the gun control debate as it relates to the Second Amendment. 



Student Activism and the Gun Control Debate 

Senior Associate Dean, Professor of Writing Studies and Rhetoric

Dr. Tomeka Robinson, Associate Professor of Rhetorical Studies & Director of Forensics, talks about the role that rhetoric plays in the upcoming presidential debate at Hofstra on September 26, 2016.

Rhetoric and Debate 2016: HU Office Hours with Tomeka Robinson

Hofstra University’s award-winning Speech and Debate team, also known as Hofstra Forensics, is a program within the Department of Rhetoric in which members train and compete in debate and public speaking events against students from dozens of other colleges and universities across the nation.

For more information, visit http://www.hofstra.edu

Speech &amp; Debate

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