Fulton Debate Hall of Fame
In 2017, the Fulton Debate Hall of Fame began by inducting five members from the pre-World War II era. Subsequently, at least five new members will be enshrined each year until every decade is represented. Thereafter, nominations from alumni will be solicited for adding additional members.
Pre-World War II Inductees
William Murphy, as the first winner of the Fulton Medal, is an obvious choice for induction into the Hall of Fame. Murphy was also one of Boston College’s most distinguished alumni. After graduating from Boston College, Murphy became a newspaper reporter for the Boston Globe covering the State House. His excellence as a reporter led to his appointment as a Secretary to three Massachusetts Governors: Eben Draper, Curtis Guild, and James Curley. In 1941, Boston College awarded him the 50th Jubilarian Medal.
John Douglass, won the Fulton Medal in 1893 and served as President of the Fulton (Spring term of 1893). He was the valedictorian of his graduating class. After graduating from Georgetown Law School, he started a law practice in Boston and began a career in politics. Douglass was elected to four terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1899 to 1913). In 1924, Douglas was elected to the U.S. Congress where served for 5 terms (1924 to 1933). He is the only Fultonian to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
John Wright, is widely acclaimed to have been of the greatest orators of his day. He won both the Fulton medal (1931) and the Gargan medal (1929). In 1930, he was a member of the Fulton team who defeated Harvard in a debate over prohibition (with BC arguing against the ban on the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol). After graduation, Wright entered St. John's Seminary in Brighton and was ordained in 1935 to the priesthood. He quickly emerged as one of the most influential priests in the United States. He served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Boston (1947-1949), the Bishop of Worcester (1950-1958), and the Bishop of Pittsburgh (1959-1969). In 1969, Wright was elevated to Cardinal by Pope Paul. Ever the orator, he served as the featured speaker at the 1964 Fulton Debate reunion banquet.
Father Charles Donovan, is a beloved figure who is well known to many Fultonians. He served as President of the Fulton (Spring 1933) and the Marquette (Fall 1930). As a debater, one of Donovan’s greatest victories was defeating Oxford University in a 1932 debate on the topic, “Resolved: That this House would welcome the cancellation of all war debts and reparations.” Donovan also won the Harrigan Prize for oratory and the Leonard Persuasive Speaking contest. After graduation, Donovan became a Jesuit priest and eventually became an administrator at Boston College. He served as the Dean of the School of Education, Dean of Faculties, and Academic Vice President. As the first University Historian, he wrote, The History of Boston Colege (1990) and penned several occasional papers, including Debate at Boston Colege: People, Places, Traditions (1991). No matter what position he held, Father Donovan was a regular attendee at the Fulton Prize Debate (always sitting in the front row) and a great champion of the debate program.
Lawrence Riley won every important honor as a debater and student. He was elected President of the Marquette (Fall 1933 & Spring 1934) and the Fulton (Fall 1935). He won both the Marquette Prize Debate (1934) and the Fulton Prize Debate (1936). He competed in public debates where the Fulton defeated Georgetown (1934), Dartmouth (1935), and Cambridge University (1935). He was the valedictorian of his graduating class. After graduation, Riley became a Catholic priest and enjoyed a distinguished career. In 1965, he was appointed as the Rector of St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. In 1970, Riley was named the Auxiliary Bishop of Boston.
1940's Inductees
Paul J. Greeley was a champion debater in the Catholic Diocesan League and he achieved an illustrious career as a Fulton Debater. He served as President of the Marquette Society (Fall 1937) and the Fulton (Fall, 1939). He won the Gargan medal (1938) and the Fulton medal (1940).
Greeley served in the Navy during World War II and attained the rank of lieutenant. He later received his master’s degree from Boston College and served as the executive director of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce for 17 years.
Thomas J. Finnegan, Jr., won the Gargan (1939) and Fulton medals (1941). He served as Vice President (Fall 1940) and Secretary in the Fulton. He was the class valedictorian and “voted the most likely to succeed.”
After graduating from BC, he attended Boston College law school and then entered the Army and fought during World War II. Upon discharge, he entered Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton and was ordained in 1951. From 1968 to 1973, he was the Chancellor of the Chancery office in Boston serving under Cardinals Cushing and Medeiros.
Maurice Paradis, who won the Fulton Medal in 1947. This was a notable and historically important Fulton Prize Debate, as no debate had occurred in the prior three years due to World War II. Paradis also won two other prestigious oratorical competitions, the Hearst and Harrigan contests.
Before winning the Fulton Prize Debate in 1947, Paradis served in the Army during World War II. After graduating from Boston College, he earned a law degree and worked as an attorney for the Pentagon and then as chief counsel for Lockhead Missiles and Space Company.
E. Paul Kelly, who won the Gargan (1946) and Fulton Medals (1949). The Marquette Prize Debate of April 1946 in which Kelly won the Gargan medal was significant because it was the first debate of the post-World War II era. Kelly is also historically important for being one of the first Fultonians to compete in intercollegiate tournaments using the national debate topic selected by the National Debate Tournament (NDT).
After receiving a master’s degree in philosophy from Shadow Brook Jesuit Seminary, Kelly spent 8 years with the Jesuits teaching philosophy and English at Sophia University in Japan. Only weeks before making his vows, Kelly left the seminary and enrolled in law school at Boston College, where he received his degree in 1960 and practiced as a trial attorney until his retirement in 2000. Kelly married and had 4 sons, one of whom was Chip Kelly, the Head football coach of the UCLA Bruins and the former Head football coach of the Eagles, 49ers, and Oregon Ducks.
Lawrence E. Spellman, who won the Gargan (1948) and Fulton (1950) medals and served as President of the Fulton (Spring 1948). He was also President of his senior class.
Spellman is one of the early Fultonians who competed in intercollegiate competitions during 1948-1949. The national topic for that year was, “Resolved: That the federal government should adopt a policy of equalizing educational opportunity in tax-supported schools by means of annual grants.”
Spellman graduated from Harvard Law School in 1955 and was a partner in the law firm of Ransmeier & Spellman in Concord, New Hampshire.
1950's Inductees
Francis E. Dooley was a Fulton Medal winner (1952) and served as the President of the Fulton (Fall 1951). He competed in numerous intercollegiate debates. During the Fulton’s annual Easter trip in April 1950, Dooley competed against Fordham, St. Joseph, St. Peter's, Georgetown, and Catholic University. The national topic that year was, "Resolved: That All Basic Non-agricultural Industries Should be Nationalized."
Dooley received a law degree from Boston College and practiced law in several Boston law firms, including Parker, Coulter, Daley & White (1955 to 1994), Dolbec, McGrath, Bennett & White and Burke, Monahan & McGrath.
John J. Curtin, Jr. ’54, won the Gargan (1952) and Fulton medals (1954). He served as Vice President of the Marquette Society (Fall 1951 & Spring 1952) and Vice President of the Fulton (Fall 1953).
Curtin earned a law degree from Boston College in 1957 and became one of the leading attorneys in the United States. He was a partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP where he served as Chair of its Litigation Practice. Curtin was elected President of the American Bar Association (1990-1991) and the Boston Bar Association (1979-1981).
Brian E. Concannon, who won the Fulton Medal (1956) and the Leonard Oratorical contest (1956). He served as President of the Fulton (Fall 1956) and Vice President of the Marquette (Spring 1954).
Concannon earned a law degree from Boston College and served as the District Attorney for Plymouth County and as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since 1962, he has practiced law in Marshfield and in 1968, argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court (Johnson v. Massachusetts, 390 U.S. 511).
Edward J.F. Thomas, achieved the unmatched feat of winning a medal in each of his four years. Thomas won two Gargan medals (1954, 1955) and two Fulton Medals (1956, 1957). Thomas also won the Leonard Oratorical contest (1957). He served as Marquette President (Fall 1954) and Vice President of the Fulton (Fall, 1956).
On graduation day, Thomas was commissioned in the Army through the ROTC program. He served for over thirty years as an Infantry officer retiring as a Brigadier General. He taught Russian at West Point for a number of years serving ultimately as Head of the Department of Foreign Languages.
Jack R. McNealy won the Fulton Medal (1960) and served as Fulton President (1959-1960), Marquette President (Spring 1958) and Marquette Vice-President (Fall 1957).
Upon graduation Jack was commissioned as an Army Intelligence Officer but delayed active service long enough to receive a Master’s Degree in French from Indiana University. His Army career spanned twenty-two years and saw him posted to six states as well as France and Vietnam. He reached the rank of Colonel before retiring. A sixteen year business career followed.
1960's Inductees
James J. Unger, is the most successful debater in Fulton history. In 1962, Unger became part of the first Fulton debate team (debating with William Able) to qualify for the National Debate Tournament (NDT). During his junior and senior years (debating with Joseph McLaughlin), Unger reached the semi-finals of the NDT in 1963 and the final round in 1964, where he lost on a 4-3 decision to the University of the Pacific.
During his senior year, Unger was named the top speaker at nine of the fourteen tournaments in which he competed, and he won 5th place speaker honors at the 1964 NDT.
In 1963, Unger won the Fulton Medal in the 73rd annual Fulton Prize Debate, while affirming the resolution that the non-Communist nations of the world should join in an economic community.
After graduating from Boston College, Unger went on to earn a law degree from Harvard University in 1967. While attending law school, Unger was hired by John Henry Lawton to serve as the Fulton debate coach from 1965-1967.
From 1968 to 1982, Unger served as the Director of Debate at Georgetown. His team won the NDT in 1977 and finished second in 1973 and 1976. In a nationwide poll of coaches, Unger was voted the outstanding debate coach and best debate judge of the 1970s.
Joseph T. McLaughlin, is the second most successful debater in Fulton history. McLaughlin qualified to the NDT three times (1963, 1964 & 1965) and he won the Gargan medal (1963) and the Fulton Prize Debate twice (1964 & 1965).
McLaughlin’s debating career is under-appreciated because he was over-shadowed by being partnered with Unger. Frank Harrison (1961 NDT finalist) always claimed Unger was the brains of the team and that McLaughlin contributed little in the way of substance. This view is mistaken. McLaughlin was no slouch and achieved many victories and speaker awards while debating with other partners.
For example, during the Fall of 1964/Spring of 1965, McLaughlin won the University of Kentucky tournament (with John Raedel), won the American University tournament (with Robert Halli, jr.) and won the Greater Boston Forensic Tournament (with Raedel). He also reached the semi-finals at Harvard (with Dennis McCarthy) and the quarter-finals at Dartmouth (with McCarthy).
In his senior year, McLaughlin received six top ten speaker awards, including winning top speaker at American University, the University of Kentucky and the Greater Boston Forensic Tournament at Boston University.
After graduating Boston College with honors, McLaughlin attended Cornell Law School, and then clerked for Chief Justice Joseph Tauro of the Massachusetts Judicial Court. For forty-five years, McLaughlin enjoyed professional success as a litigator at Shearman & Sterling, Credit Suisse First Boston, Heller Ehrman, and at Bingham McCutchen.
McLaughlin also published a series of influential articles and books on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and taught classes at Fordham Law School.
Robert W. Halli, Jr. twice qualified for the NDT in 1965 (with Joseph McLaughlin) and in 1967 (with David White).
Halli won numerous individual speaker awards, including top speaker at St. Joseph’s (Fall 1965), The University of Pennsylvania (Spring 1965), and Boston University (Spring 1965).
In the Spring of 1965, he won first place at the American University Tournament (with McLaughlin) and during his debating career, he reached the elimination rounds at Brandeis, Georgetown, Kentucky, and the US Naval Academy.
Halli is a two time winner of the Gargan medal (1965 & 1966).
After graduating from Boston College, Halli received his Master’s and PhD from the University of Virginia. For thirty years, he taught English at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and in 2002, was named director of their Honors Program.
David M. White, was a two time Fulton medal winner (1967 & 1968) and a two-time qualifier to the NDT in 1967 (with Robert Halli, Jr.) and in 1968 (with Charlie Brown).
David White earned numerous speaker awards, including top speaker honors at St. Anslem (Spring 1965) and Boston University (Spring 1965). He won the St. Josephs’ tournament debating with Halli in the fall of 1965.
Debating with Charlie Brown during 1967-1968, White achieved second place at Dartmouth and Brandeis, two of the largest and most competitive tournaments of that season.
In 1967, White & Halli won the district 8 qualifying tournament to the NDT, which was held at the University of Chicago. At the NDT, Halli & White compiled a strong record of 4-4 with 13 ballots and missed qualifying to the elimination rounds by 1 ballot. That year, two teams with 4-4 records with 15 and 14 ballots were the 15th and 16th seeds.
David White earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In 1985, he founded a non-profit company called, Testing for the Public, which provides students with instruction for taking the GMAT, LSAT and GRE. He is a nationally recognized expert on standardized testing and a prominent voice in advocating for greater equity in standardized testing.
Charles C. Brown, was a three time qualifier to the NDT in 1968 (with White) and in 1969 and 1970 (with Killenbeck).
Along with being a two-time quarter finalists with Killenbeck at the NDT, Brown & Killenbeck achieved other great tournament performances. Early on, it was evident that their partnership would produce winning results. In the fall of 1966, Brown & Killenbeck won the Tufts tournament and in the Spring of 1967, they reached the semi-finals of the Novice Nationals tournament held at Northwestern.
In their senior year, Brown & Killenbeck were one of the best teams in the United States. They achieved second place finishes at Brandeis, UCLA, and Redlands and semi-finals at Georgetown and Harvard. That year, Brown also earned many speaker awards including fifth place at Georgetown, fourth place at UCLA, and eighth place at Redlands.
Charles Brown received his PhD in economics from Harvard. Since 1985, Brown has served as the Research Professor of the Survey Research Center and a Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Mark R. Killenbeck, was a Fulton Prize winner (1969) and a two-time NDT qualifier (1969 & 1970).
Debating with Charles Brown, Killenbeck reached the quarter-finals of the NDT in both 1969 and 1970. In 1969 at the NDT held at Northern Illinois, Brown & Killenbeck were 5-3 with 16 ballots. In the octo-finals, they defeated Canisius in a 3-2 decision. In the quarter-finals, they lost to Loyola in a 4-1 decision.
In the 1970 NDT held at the University of Houston, Brown & Killenbeck were again 5-3 with 16 ballots. They defeated UCLA in the octo finals in a 5-0 decision. In the quarter-finals, they lost to the University of Houston (the top seed) in a 5-0 decision.
During his senior year, Killenbeck earned top speaker honors at some of the best tournaments, including Redlands, Georgetown, Harvard and Northwestern. He was also second speaker at UCLA and the fifth place speaker at the NDT in 1969.
Killenbeck received a JD and a PhD at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is currently the Wylie H. Davis Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas where he teaches Constitutional Law, The First Amendment, and American Legal History.
1970's Inductees
Jack came to Boston College as a superstar high school debater. Debating for BC High School, he won the Catholic Forensic League National Tournament (with Richard Lewis, the 1969 NDT winner from Harvard).
Debating for Fulton Debate, MacMillan won many trophies debating with a variety of partners: 2nd at Emory in 1969 (with Baker), 2nd at Georgetown in 1971 (with Mary Ellen Raux), 5 th place, Oberlin in 1971 (with Martin Moleski), semi-finals at Georgetown in 1969 (with Hoenig), quarter finals at Dartmouth in 1969 (with Hoenig), Octo finals at Harvard in 1971 (with Baker), quarter finals at Georgetown in 1970, (with Baker) and 5 th place novice nationals in 1969 (with Baker).
Jack MacMillan also qualified for the NDT in 1970 (with Robert Baker) and in 1971 (with Robert Hoenig). He won the Gargan medal in 1969.
After graduating from Boston College with a philosophy degree, Jack earned an MBA from the University of New Hampshire and has taught economics and management classes at the University of New Hampshire and Granite State College.
Robert P. Baker qualified for the NDT twice (1971, 1972) and won two Fulton Medals (1971, 1972), along with a Gargan medal in 1970. He also served as Fulton President (1971-1972) and Vice President (1970-1971).
Debating with Jack MacMillan and Jane Osborne, Baker compiled a stellar debate record (those results appear under MacMillan & Osborne). Additionally, in 1970, he was named 3rd speaker at the highly prestigious Brandeis tournament and advanced to the octo-finals (with Mary Ellen Raux).
In 1972, Baker graduated from BC with a degree in political science and communication; he was the commencement speaker at his graduation.
After BC, Baker attended Harvard Law School, were he earned a JD in 1975. While at Harvard, he participated in the prestigious Ames Moot Court competition. This moot court contest occurs over a two-year period where teams of six law students write appellate briefs and then make their arguments before judges. In the fall of 1974, Baker’s team reached the final round and argued their case before a panel of three judges headed by Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
After graduating from Harvard, Baker practiced law in Boston for two years. He then moved to Los Angeles and began a highly successful career as a litigator and partner in several law firms. In 2005, Baker opened his own law office in Santa Monica, California.
Robert Baker is widely regarded one of the preeminent lawyers in California. In 2020, Expertise Services named him as one of the top 20 litigation lawyers in Los Angeles; he received the designation of “Super Lawyer” for the years 2005 to 2009 and 2017 to 2020 by the Los Angeles Magazine.
Jane Osborne (McKnight) became the first female to qualify for the NDT in 1972 (with Robert Baker). That same year, she reached the quarter-finals of the Harvard tournament (with Baker).
In 1973, Jane Osborne set another milestone by being the first female to win the Fulton Medal in the Fulton Prize Debate. The prior year, she won the Gargan Medal.
As a Fulton member, Jane also participated in individual events and numerous public debates held on-campus. In 1974, she placed third in original oratory at the University of New Hampshire.
After graduating from BC in 1975, Jane earned two post-graduate degrees: a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Harvard and a JD from UCLA.
After moving back to New England, Jane Osborne McKnight established her own private law practice in Shelburne, VT.
Mike Reilly won the Fulton Medal in the 1975 Prize Debate and served for two years as Vice President (1974-1975 & 1975-76).
The partnership of Mike Reilly and John Meany were the most successful Fulton debate team of the 1970s. They qualified for the NDT in 1974 and 1975.
During their sophomore year, Meany & Reilly debated as a team at ten tournaments. They won the New England Forensic Championship (hosted by University of New Hampshire), placed second at Brown, West Point, and the District Tournament (hosted by UMass, Amherst), and reached the double-octos at UCLA and Seton Hall.
In their junior year, Meany & Reilly became the only team in Fulton history to earn a First-Round At-Large bid to the National Debate Tournament (NDT). Beginning in 1973, the NDT established a new method for qualifying. Before the district qualifying tournaments were held in March, debate teams would submit their records to the NDT Committee, who would rank the performances of all the teams. The top sixteen teams would receive automatic bids to compete at the NDT.
During the 1974-1975 debate season, Meany & Reilly received a first-round bid and were ranked as the tenth best debate team in the United States. Their best tournament finishes that year were a second place at Emory, three semi-finals (Northwestern, Georgetown, Redlands), three quarter-finals (MIT, North Carolina & UCLA), and four octo-finals (Kentucky, Houston, Harvard, Heart of America).
After graduating from BC, Mike Reilly earned his JD from Boston College Law School and works as an attorney in Boston at the law offices of Tommasino & Tommasino.
John Meany served as Fulton President for three years (1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-66). He won two Gargan medals (1973 & 1974), and he qualified twice for the NDT (1975 & 1975)
He enjoyed a stellar career debating primarily with Michael Reilly (the results of that partnership appearing under Reilly).
During his debate career, Meany won numerous prestigious speaker awards, including top speaker at the National Round Robin Tournament (1975) held at Catholic University, top speaker at the University of New Hampshire (1974), fourth place speaker at Dartmouth (1974), and tenth place speaker at Harvard (1974).
After BC, John Meany pursued a career as a debate coach for several programs before being hired in 1987 as the Director of Forensics at Claremont McKenna College.
While at Claremont, Meany has enjoyed tremendous success as a coach of parliamentary debate. In 2002, he co-authored (with Kate Schuster) a very influential book on teaching parliamentary debate called, Art, Argument, and Advocacy: Mastering Parliamentary Debate.
1980's Inductees
Michael J. Janas was the most outstanding debater of the 1980s. During the 1986-1987 academic year (debating with Christopher Gassett), he won 1st place at Navy (1987), 2nd place at the University of Pittsburgh (1986), semi-finals at Penn. State (1986) and semi-finals at George Mason (1987).
In 1987, Janas qualified for the NDT and nearly reached the elimination rounds. He was 4-3 and got pulled up in round 8 and lost a break-round to Northwestern (Gordon Mitchell & Cate Palczewski).
Janas was also a two-time winner of the Fulton Medal in the Fulton Prize Debates of 1986 and 1987.
After graduating from Boston College, Janas earned a Master’s degree in communication from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D in communication from the University of Iowa. In 1993, Janas was hired by Samford University as its Director of Debate, and he served until 2006. For his coaching excellence, Janas was named the District VI Coach of the Year and South East CEDA Coach of the Year.
After retiring from debate, Janas served as a Professor and the Chair of Communication Studies from 2012 until 2021. Dr. Janas is a highly respected teacher and academic. He was elected to serve as President of the American Forensic Association (2014-2016).
Christopher T. Gassett ’89, debated with Mike Janas and Lisa Marie Ameden. Gassett qualified for the NDT twice—with Janas in 1987 and with Ameden in 1988. Gassett won the Fulton Medal in 1989 and the Gargan Medal in 1988. In addition to the tournament successes achieved debating with Mike Janas, Gassett reached the octo-finals at the Harvard tournament in 1988 debating with Ameden.
After graduating from Boston College, Gassett attended law school at Northeastern, where he earned a J.D. in 1993.
Gassett became a prominent attorney who served as General Counsel for Special Data Processing Corporation (2007 to 2010) and The Home Shopping Network, which is now called HSN (2011 to 2019). He is currently self-employed as an attorney providing legal counsel for major internet companies, retailers, and manufacturers.
Lisa Marie Claussen-Adams (formerly, Lisa Marie Ameden), debated with John Goodwin, Chris Gassett, and Darren Schwiebert.
Ameden earned many tournament successes. Debating with Goodwin, Ameden reached the quarter-finals of the 1987 National JV Championships. Debating with Schwiebert, Ameden reached the finals of Navy in 1989 and was named the top speaker.
Ameden qualified for the NDT twice—with Gassett in 1988 and with Schwiebert in 1989. Ameden won the Gargan medal at the 1989 Fulton Prize Debate.
For over twenty years, Ameden has held executive positions in charge of leadership development, including serving as Vice President for Global Research Development at Bain Capital (2005 to 2014) and Chief Talent Officer at Cornerstone Research (2014-2020). Ameden is currently the Chief People Officer at Insight2Profit.
1990's Inductees
Darren Schwiebert was a four-time qualifier for the NDT, having qualified during his freshmen year (1989) with Lisa Marie Ameden and having qualified three times (1990, 1991, 1992) debating with Craig Cerniello.
Schwiebert is a two-time winner of the Fulton Medal (1990 and 1991).
Debating with Lisa Marie Ameden, Schwiebert reached the finals of Navy in 1989.
In their first two years as a team, Cerniello & Schwiebert won tournaments at King’s (1990) and George Washington (1990). They also placed second at King’s (1989) and Navy (1990), reached the quarter-finals at Navy (1991), and advanced to the double-octo finals at Northwestern (1991).
During the 1991-1992 season, Cerniello & Schwiebert reached the elimination rounds at national-level tournaments: octo-finals at North Carolina (1991), octo-finals at Wake Forest (1991), quarter-finals at Pittsburgh (1991), quarter-finals at West Georgia (1992), and the octo-finals at Heart of America (1992).
At the 1992 NDT hosted by Miami (Ohio), Cerniello & Schwiebert concluded their debate career on a high note by reaching the octo-finals.
During the preliminary rounds, they won 5 debates with 13 ballots. In the double-octo finals, they defeated Baylor (Rod Phares & Bill Trapani) in a 3-2 decision. They were defeated in the octo-finals by Georgetown (Ahilan Arulanantham & Kevin Kuswa), the eventual NDT champion that year.
For the past 27 years, Schwiebert has worked as a prominent trial lawyer for several law firms. He has appeared in over 100 Federal Court cases in 15 different Federal Courts. He has tried cases in the areas of breach of contract, patent infringement, patent ownership, copyright infringement, employment litigation, debt collection, fraud, and civil theft.
Since 2021, Schwiebert has been employed as an attorney by Briol & Benson in Minneapolis.
Craig Cerniello is a three-time qualifier for the NDT (1990, 1991, 1992), who debated with Darren Schwiebert. His stellar accomplishments over those three years are documented under the Schwiebert history.
Cerniello did not debate during his senior year, and he graduated from Boston College in 1993 with a degree in political science. He then received an M.P.M. in International Security and Economic Policy from the University of Maryland.
For several years, Cerniello worked for the Arms Control Association and authored numerous articles for Arms Control Today. Today he works for the U.S. government as a foreign policy and intelligence analyst.
As a freshman, John Frantz debated with Sal Liberto. At Wake Forest in 1990, they qualified for the freshman breakout elimination rounds, where they reached the semi-finals.
For the next two years, Frantz debated with Jack Minnear. In their first year debating together, they showed great potential. At the Northwestern tournament, they reached the double-octo finals, and they later qualified for the NDT. At the NDT, they won 4 debates and in round 8, they lost a break round in a split decision.
The next year, Frantz & Minnear emerged as one of the top twenty debate teams in the United States. During the 1992-1993 year, they reached the elimination rounds at virtually every national tournament: octo-finals at Northern Iowa (1992), second place at North Carolina (1992), octo-finals at Harvard (1992), octo-finals at Wake Forest (1992), double-octo finals at Northwestern (1993).
John Frantz earned several individual speaker awards including 7th speaker at North Carolina and 15th speaker at Harvard.
At the 1993 NDT hosted by Northern Iowa, Frantz & Minnear reached the double-octo finals. They won 5 debates with 13 ballots. They were defeated in the first elimination round by George Mason (Gordon Stables & Ryan Galloway).
In 1993, Frantz graduated from Boston College on an accelerated basis (in 3 years) and then received his J.D. degree in 1996 from Harvard Law School.
From 1997-2000, Frantz worked as an Associate at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, DC. Since 2000, he has worked in a variety of legal roles at Verizon. He is presently the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Verizon Business Group. Since 2009, he has also served as the Chair of Verizon’s pro bono program.
Jack Minnear enjoyed a fabulous four-year career— debating for two years with John Frantz and two years with Wenyu Ho. He qualified for the NDT four times (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995). He is also the only debater in Fulton history to advance four times to the double-octo finals at the Northwestern Tournament.
In his junior year debating with Ho, Minnear advanced to the double-octo finals at Northern Iowa and, of course, at Northwestern. They also qualified for the NDT.
Minnear & Ho achieved considerable tournament success during their senior year. They advanced to the double-octo finals at Northern Iowa (1994), octo-finals at North Carolina (1994), quarter-finals at Navy (1995), double-octo finals at Northwestern (1995), and quarter-finals at ADA Nationals (1995).
In 1995, Minnear also debated at the George Washington tournament with Bill Macey. They reached the semi-finals, with Minnear earning 4th place speaker honors.
At the 1995 NDT held at West Georgia, Minnear & Ho came close to making the elimination rounds. Going into round 8, they had 4 wins. But, unfortunately, the round 8 pairing pulled them up to face a first-round at-large team from Northwestern (Sinan Aral & Mason Miller), who had 5 wins. In round 8, Aral & Miller defeated Minnear & Ho and ended their debate career.
After graduating from Boston College with a philosophy degree, Minnear received his J.D. in 1998 from Georgetown Law School. He has practiced law at several firms, including Sutherland Asbill & Brennan (2004-2011) and Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman (2011-2014). Since 2014, Minnear has served as the Assistant General Counsel at Verizon.
Wenyu (Ho) Blanchard debated for four years and achieved success at the novice, junior varsity, and varsity levels.
As a novice, Ho debated with Christopher Strunk. They were a formidable novice team. They won Navy and ADA Nationals and placed second at George Mason.
The following year, Ho debated in junior varsity with Dilip Paliath. The Ho & Paliath partnership won three tournaments (James Madison, Liberty, and ADA Nationals) and placed second at two more tournaments (Navy and George Mason). Debating with Nick Brady, she reached the finals of Navy.\
As a JV debater, Ho received a top five speaker award at every tournament and she won the top speaker award at both Navy and ADA Nationals.
During her last two years, Ho debated in varsity with Jack Minnear. For someone who began as a true novice, it is remarkable that she qualified twice for the NDT and reached the elimination rounds at numerous national tournaments.
Along with being a champion tournament debater, Wenyu Ho was also a successful competitor in public debates. She won the Fulton Medal in 1994 and the Gargan Medal in 1993. She was selected by the International Discussion and Debate (ICDD) committee to be a member of the U.S. debate team that toured Great Britain for several months in 1996.
After graduating from Boston College with a degree in political science, Ho returned to the Heights and earned a J.D. degree from the Boston College Law School.
She worked as an associate and made partner at a law firm in Chicago (Sonnenschein). Ho Blanchard then pursued a career as an in-house attorney at several firms, including Wrigley (2006-2013), Oscar Mayer (2013-2016), and Alliant Energy (2016-2021). Currently, Ho Blanchard is the General Counsel and Vice President at SP+.
2000's Inductees
Christopher Schroeck, '04 qualified for the NDT three times (2001, 2002, and 2003).
During his freshmen year, Schroeck debated with Jared Fields. Schroeck & Fields advanced to the elimination rounds of major tournaments including the octo-finals of Northwestern and Baylor. In 2001, they qualified for the NDT by placing fourth in the district qualifying tournament held at Boston College.
For the next two years, Schroeck, debated with Ben Bireley. That partnership produced many tournament successes, including advancing to the quarter-finals at UMK and the Capital Classic, reaching the octo-finals at Baylor, and making the double-octos at Georgia State. Schroeck & Bireley qualified for the NDT in 2002 and 2003.
Schroeck won the Gargan medal in 2001 and earned the Duffy Award for Excellence in Debate in 2003.
After receiving his B.A. in philosophy from Boston College, Schroeck attended law school at the University of Virginia, where he received his JD in 2007.
Schroeck has practiced law in Roanaoke, Virginia and in Franklin, Tennessee. Currently, he is the Assistant Vice President and Associate Counsel at Prosperity Life.
Ben Bireley '05, debated for three years, and qualified for the NDT three times (2002, 2003, and 2004).
In his first two years, Bireley debated with Chris Schroeck and qualified with him to the NDT in 2002 and 2003. Along with the tournament success achieved with Schroeck, Birelely also advanced to the octo-finals of the novice nationals tournament as a freshmen (debating with Patrick Carney).
During the 2003-2004 season, Bireley debated with Kevin Shatzkin, and qualified for the NDT for the third time in 2004. The two best tournament performances of the Bireley & Shatzkin collaboration was winning the West Point Tournament in 2003 and advancing to the semi-finals of ADA National in 2004. For his debating excellence, Bireley received the Kevin Duffy Award in 2004.
Bireley also excelled as a debater in the Fulton Prize Debate. He won the Gargan medal in 2002 and the Fulton Medal in 2003.
After graduating from Boston College as a Presidential Scholar majoring in political science and government, Bireley returned to Texas and earned a J.D. degree in 2010 from the University of Texas (Austin).
From 2010 to 2011, Bireley served as a Law Clerk to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Since 2016, Bireley has practiced law at the Houston Law Firm of Arnold & Itkin.
Kevin Shatzkin, qualified for the NDT three times (2003, 2004, 2005).
Shatzkin is the only debater in Fulton history to have won the West Point tournament twice. He first captured the West Point Sabre in 2022 (debating with Jeffrey Sullivan) and then again in 2003 (debating with Bireley).
Along with winning West Point, the Shatzkin-Sullivan partnership reached the semi-finals at the University of Richmond (2002), the octo-finals at Baylor (2003), and qualified twice to the NDT (2003 and 2005).
In 2005, Shatzkin won the Fulton Prize Debate and received the Duffy Award for excellence in debate.
Upon graduating from BC, Shatzkin earned a Master’s degree in international relations from the University of San Diego.
For several years, Shatzkin has been employed by the United States Airforce as an intelligence analyst. His current position is as the Principal Intelligence Analyst for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, USAF.
Jeffrey Sullivan qualified for the NDT three times (2003, 2005, 2006).
In the two years when Sullivan was not debating with Shatzkin, he achieved numerous tournament successes competing with other partners. During the 2003-2004 season, Sullivan debated with Brady Littlefield. While this duo did not talk very fast, they won many debates by outsmarting their opponents. Sullivan & Littlefield advanced to the quarter-finals of Richmond and the octos at both West Point and Navy.
In his senior year, Sullivan debated with Doowon Chung. Debating with the rapid talking Chung, Sullivan qualified for the NDT for a third time (2006). Sullivan & Chung also reached the finals at West Point, the semi-finals at Liberty, and the quarter-finals at Navy.
In 2004 Fulton Prize Debate, Sullivan won the Fulton Medal. In his senior year (2006), he received the Duffy Award for excellence in debating.
After graduating from BC, Sullivan earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 2009. Upon receiving his law degree, Sullivan clerked for a U.S. District Judge and practiced law for several years as a litigation associate at Hogan Lovells. He is currently a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in the United States Air Force.
Allen Best qualified for the NDT four times in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
He debated with Mandy Castle for his entire debate career under the team code of Boston College BC. During their four-year partnership, Best & Castle achieved numerous tournament successes, including advancing to the semi-finals of George Mason (2004), capturing second place at the University of Richmond (2006), winning the George Mason tournament (2006) and advancing to the quarter-finals of Navy (2007).
Allen Best won the Fulton Medal twice (2006 & 2007) and the Gargan Medal once (2004.) In 2007, he received the Duffy Award for Excellence in Debating.
Upon receiving his law degree from the University of Iowa, Allen Best remained in Iowa City and worked as a lawyer and operations director for several emerging biotechnology companies. He is currently the Alliance Director at Clinical Ink, which is a global life science company.
Mandy Castle qualified for the NDT four times in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
In her first year, Castle showed immediate promise when she advanced to the final round of the freshmen breakout division of the Wake Forest Tournament.
Along with achieving numerous tournament victories with Best, Castle also won the University of Miami (Florida) Tournament in 2006 debating with Doowon Chung.
Mandy Castle was a three-time winner of the Gargan Medal (2005, 2006, 2007). In 2007, she was the recipient of the Kevin Duffy Award for Excellence in Debating.
After graduating from BC in 2007, Castle earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan. She practiced law at several law firms in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mandy Castle Wahl is now a digital copywriter for Fleet Feet.