Mines Students Showcase Their Skills in the University's First-Ever Howard Wells Public Speaking Competition

March 24, 2025
Mines Students Showcase Their Skills in the University's First-Ever Howard Wells Public Speaking Competition
Two South Dakota Mines alumni, Randy Parcel (MinE 67) and Marv Truhe (ME 67), established an endowment to honor their speech and debate coach, Professor Howard Wells, who led the Pi Kappa Delta forensics team to top regional and national tournaments in the mid-1960s.

In the 1960s, a spirited group of South Dakota Mines engineering students piled into two university station wagons and hit the road, not to showcase their STEM expertise but to dominate the Midwest in the art of speech and debate.

Coached by long-time Mines economics professor Howard Wells, the Pi Kappa Delta forensics team took top placements at regional and national tournaments, competing against teams from all over, including the University of Denver, the Air Force Academy, and the University of Wyoming.

Wells, affectionately known as “Coach,” led the Mines forensics team from 1959 to 1970, leaving a lasting impact as a mentor and professor to countless students, including alumni Randy Parcel (MinE 67) and Marv Truhe (ME 67).Professor Howard Wells joined the faculty of South Dakota Mines in 1938 teaching economics for more than 30 years. He coached the university’s forensic teams from 1959 to 1970.

Soon after Wells retired in 1970, the university dropped its speech and debate program.

Parcel and Truhe, who fondly remember their days dominating the public speaking circuit, hope to recreate it for a new generation. The two Mines alumni established an endowment and are working with the Mines Department of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) to bring back the days of speech and debate.

“We decided that a public speaking competition would be a great way to begin this process,” said Kyle Knight, Ph.D., HASS department head.

The Howard Wells Public Speaking Competition will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 25 in the Beck Ballroom of the Surbeck Center. The five student finalists will each deliver a 10-minute speech on this year’s theme: “What do you see as an important challenge facing society in the coming years, and what role do scientists and engineers play in meeting that challenge?”

Knight worked with Parcel, Truhe, Amanda Barnes, the Center for Alumni Relations and Advancement's associate vice president for philanthropy, and Bryce Tellman, Ph.D., assistant professor in HASS, to organize the competition which will be an annual event.

“We are all excited to be able to offer this opportunity to students,” Knight said.

The speeches will be judged by a panel of five individuals drawn from faculty, staff, alumni and local community leaders.

The top winner will receive $2,000.

“At South Dakota Mines, we don’t just teach students to excel in engineering and science. We help them develop the communication skills needed to confidently convey what they know and achieve professional success,” Knight said.

The public speaking event provides an opportunity for Mines students to show off their communication skills as well as their knowledge and passion for their field of study.

“There’s this idea out there that Mines students, and STEM folks generally, tend not to be good communicators,” said Tellman. “I’ve worked with professional engineers and taught hundreds of students here at Mines, and this simply isn’t true. Our students work hard to develop their capacity for communication – skills that are vital for addressing the ‘big questions’ that science and society face.”