Course materials and potentially interesting links from R. Mercadante--Tampa, Florida

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e-mail: mercadan@chuma.cas.usf.edu

SUMMARY Thirteen years teaching experience. Successful competitive speech and debate coach.

Masters degrees in speech communication and philosophy; have completed course work and comprehensive

exams for Ph.D. in philosophy.  Both high school and university teaching experience in speech and philosophy.

EDUCATION

Ph. D. Philosophy (currently enrolled) anticipated graduation - 2000

University of South Florida Tampa, Florida

M.A. Communication 1992

University of South Florida Tampa, Florida

M.A. Philosophy 1988

Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

B.S. Philosophy 1984

Suffolk University Boston, Massachusetts

EXPERIENCE

Hillsborough Comm. College Tampa, FL (Dale Mabry) 2000- Present

Adjunct philosophy instructor, Introduction to Philosophy and Ethics

University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 1997 - 1999

Instructor for courses in Critical Thinking and Introduction to Philosophy

St. Petersburg Junior College St. Petersburg, Florida 1998

Instructor (part-time) Applied Ethics course.

Jesuit High School Tampa, Florida 1988 - Present

U. S. Dept. of Education School of Excellence. Instructor - Speech, Ethics,

Contemporary Social Problems, Biblical Literature and Humanities. Managed

budget and travel arrangements while coaching a district champion speech/debate

program with numerous national qualifiers (Director of Forensics, 1990-1994). SACS

Philosophy and Goals Committee; Technology Committee; Summer Work Program.

Father Lopez High School Daytona Beach, Florida 1987 - 1988

Instructor, Philosophy, World Religions, British Literature, World Literature,

Contemporary Fiction. Director of Model United Nations Program which earned

national award from Harvard University Model United Nations Conference.

Bethune-Cookman College Daytona Beach, Florida 1987

Instructor (part-time) of speech communication.

Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts 1986

Instructor (part-time) of speech communication.

Compton's Learning Company Stoneham, Massachusetts 1985

Educational consultant/sales representative for teaching division of Encyclopaedia

Britannica. Received Bachelor of Sales degree, ranked fourth in nation in sales.

Our Lady of Grace Seminary Boston, Massachusetts 1985

Instructor (part-time) of homiletics/speech communication.

Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 1984 - 1985

Coordinator of Forensics. Coached speech events and started debate program.

Planned travel schedule, budget, and on-campus meetings/activities. First place

team trophy, New England Individual Events Championships.

Suffolk University Boston, Massachusetts 1984 - 1985

Forensics coach for nationally-ranked speech program.

WHAV - WHAV - FM Haverhill, Massachusetts 1984

Produced/anchored drive-time news for 1000w AM and 50,000 watt

FM radio station. Street reporter/editor.

WNEV - TV Boston, Massachusetts 1983

News room duties at CBS Boston affiliate.

WNBP - AM Newburyport, Massachusetts 1981

In charge of weekend operations at radio station.

FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS

* NEH Summer Seminar for School Teachers - Summer 1996

National Endowment for the Humanities 5-week seminar at Boston University

Topic: Philosophy and Medicine in Ancient Greece

* Sci-Mat Fellowship - Summer 1995

Council for Basic Education, funded by the National Science Foundation

(41 awards given out of 336 applications)

Topic: Vico's Rhetorical View of Mathematics

* Fellowship for Independent Study in the Humanities - Summer 1994.

Council for Basic Education, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities

(176 fellowships given out of 1,055 applications)

Topic: Aristotle's View of Friendship

HONORS

* Coached over three dozen high school/college students to national speech tournaments.

* 1993-1994 Jesuit Forensics team won over 200 awards including district championship.

* Suffolk University's R.L. Warren Prize for Outstanding Student in Philosophy, 1983-1984.

* Suffolk University's Dept. Speech Comm.Outstanding Service Award, 1983-1984.

* Member, Phi Sigma Tao, national philosophy honor society.

* 100 personal awards in speech and debate competitions - national rankings in

impromptu and after dinner speaking. First place speaker, New England Individual

Events Championships and Massachusetts State Finals for both 1983 and 1984.

* 1983 WBMT-FM Community Service Award

* Won two regional sales contests/ranked fourth in nation--Compton's educational products.

"Rhetoric and Medicine in Ancient Greece."  Florida Communication Association-Fall 1996.

* "A Casuistic Theory for Debating Values." Florida Communication Association-Fall 1995.

* "Heidegger and Nazism: On the Contribution of Apologetic Rhetorical Criticism to the

Heidegger Case." Florida Communication Association - Fall 1994.

* "Writing, Thinking and Socratic Dialectic."

National Council of Teachers of English - Spring 1988.

* "Debate as a Pedagogical Tool in the College Classroom." National Seminar on Successful

College Teaching sponsored by the University of Florida - Spring 1988.

Publications

* "From Political Philosophy to Rhetoric: John Rawls' Rhetorical Turn."

Florida Communication Journal - Fall, 1996.

* "Value Debate Research."

Rostrum - Official Publication of the National Forensic League - December 1994.

* "Homiletics as Rhetorical Persuasion."

Homiletic and Pastoral Review - November 1988.

* "Classical Dialectic and Philosophy in the English Classroom." The Leaflet

Journal of the New England Association of Teachers of English - Fall 1988.

* "Rhetoric, Epistemics, and Public Moral Discourse: Prospects for

Rapprochement." M.A. Thesis, University of South Florida 1992.

Work Being Revised and Resubmitted by Request of Journal

* "A Casuistic Theory for Debating Values" for Argumentation and Advocacy.

* "Apologia and Nazism: Rhetorical Criticism and the Heidegger Case."

for Rhetoric Society Quarterly.

Work in Progress

* Book on judging forensics events

* "Recent Work on Casuistry"

* "Tradition and Transmission: the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm"

* "Vico's Rhetorical View of Mathematics" 

"Aristotle on Friendship"

Service/Leadership Roles

* President, Florida Communication Assocation 1999-2000

* 1^st Vice-President, Florida Communication Association, 1998-1999

*Elementary/Secondary Representative, Florida Communication Association, 1996-1998

*President, Graduate Student Organization-Philosophy, USF, 1997-1998