ABC 2 News

Revenue shortfalls. Drops in enrollment. The layoffs of academic personnel.

Coppin State University is looking for new ways to attract students and revitalize its campus.

It’s been a struggle for campus leaders who are grappling with the allure of other state schools and academic programs.

This past year, leaders were challenged to come up with new ways to attract students.

Their answer: debate.

That’s where Adam Jackson and his colleagues from the grassroots think tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle will come in.

Starting this summer, the organization will begin work on creating a competitive policy debate team that will be geared to students interested in speech competition.

If done correctly, Coppin leaders hope the experiment will attract students to the campus as it undergoes new renovations and works to revamp existing academic programs.

“UMBC has an all-star chess team, Coppin is going to have debate,” said Ronald Collins, dean of the honors program for Coppin. read more