Major: Associate in Arts
Jim Dobson’s parents encouraged him to attend their neighborhood college.
He agreed to enroll at College of DuPage because he wasn’t ready to leave the area. While Dobson studied theater, it was speech that had an impact on him.
“I joined the speech team, which introduced me to the Speech Communication discipline, and then I was hooked,” he said. “It was a good fit for me—writing papers and not having the traditional tests. I found that speech comm drew me in because it reinforced my strengths as a student and a performer.”
As a freshman on the Forensics team, Dobson found immediate success and credits his supportive coaches, including Tim Clue, Marco Benassi, Frank Tourangeau and the late Steve Schroeder. During his second year, he won Top Speaker at the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in Coco Beach, Fla.
His success at COD, which also included a scholarship from the COD Foundation, helped him earn a full tuition waiver at Northern Arizona University for his bachelor’s degree and at California State University, Chico for graduate school.
“COD is the reason I stayed in school and eventually went for a BA and an MA,” he said. “I was taught a work ethic that helped me stay motivated and complete whatever I set out to do. I had so much fun on the Forensics team and my success at the national tournament was a turning point and I wanted to do it forever. So I did.”
The classes I took at COD prepared me really well for the classes of the future.
Jim Dobson
Dobson is currently a full-time Communication Studies Instructor and Director of Forensics at Las Positas College in Livermore, Calif. His goal is to get more students into the communication discipline, and he has encouraged and coached students with developing papers and panels for the National Communication Association conference.
“I want to make my mark in the forensics community in as many avenues as I can,” he said. “In 2019, I hosted the Phi Rho Pi National Community College tournament in Reno, Nevada. I served as vice president of the International Forensics Association from 2017 to 2023, and I hosted tournaments in Lima, Peru; Montreal, Canada; Berlin, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan, virtually during COVID. I was inducted into the Chico State Hall of Fame as an Outstanding Graduate Assistant, and I was inducted into the National Forensics Association Hall of Fame for my competitive success and service to the forensics community.”
Dobson encourages students at COD to get involved. He enjoyed his time with the Theater program and the Forensics team changed his future.
“College of DuPage sent me on a path to the major that I would eventually pursue,” he said. “The classes I took at COD prepared me really well for the classes of the future. Matter of fact, I still take ideas from my learning at COD into my own classroom. My professor at COD, Frank Tourangeau had everyone memorize each other’s names in class. I have my students do that and it makes a difference in how connected the class feels early on.
“COD has maintained a very high standard in the national forensics community with the coaching efforts of Brandon Wood and Kacy Abeln. I am proud to be an alumnus.”