Richard Paine

Richard Paine joined the North Central College faculty in January, 1983.  His scholarship is primarily based in the fields of competitive forensics, intercultural communication, and rhetorical criticism.   He has served the college as Chair of the Speech Communication Department (1994-1997, 2004-2010), Director of Forensics (1983-1994, 1999-2015), Director of Debate (1997-present), and Co-Director of Forensics (1997-1999, 2015-present).  During this period, ten North Central debate teams have earned the title "State of Illinois Champions," while three other teams have been State Finalists.  Simultaneously, NCC Individual Events students have earned multiple individual National and State titles while placing multiple times among the top 10 schools in the nation at the NFA (National Forensics Association) tournament.  An active scholar, Dr. Paine has presented 56 papers at the National Communication Association, multiple papers at the Illinois Communication and Theater Association, and many additional papers in other venues.  His published work centers around philosophies and practices in forensics.  He is currently the National Forensics Association's Vice-President for Professional Relations as well as the Midwest Representative to the American Forensics Association's National Individual Events (AFA-NIET) Committee.  He is a 25-year member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Forensics (IIFA) Board of Directors and an office-holder in Illinois' Lincoln Parliamentary (Debate) League.  He has twice been selected as the recipient of the college's Clarence F. Dissinger Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Senior Faulty Member (1992 and 2004), was one of the first three faculty members selected as a Ruge Scholar (2006-2012), and was recognized by the National Communication Association in 2012 for "Exemplary Teaching."  He has received lifetime Distinguished Service Awards from both the NFA and AFA.  A native of Vermont, Dr. Paine is married and lives in Naperville.

Courses Taught

SPC 285: Argumentation and Debate

SPC 317: Intercultural Communication

SPC 287: Advanced Public Speaking

SPC 410: Rhetorical Criticism

SPC 412: Media Criticism

SPC 100: Speech Communication (Introduction)