Dr. Bill Denman earned a B.A. in Speech and Drama from California State University, Los Angeles in 1962 and an M.A. in Speech and Drama from California State University, Los Angeles in 1966. He joined the Marshall Department of Speech in 1965 and earned his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Address from Ohio University in 1974. In 2003, Dr. Denman received the College of Liberal Arts 2002-2003 Distinguished Service Award for his years of dedication to the University, which included duties as the Director of the Society of Yeager Scholars, Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, and Interim Director of the Integrated Science and Technology Program in the College of Science. Dr. Denman’s scholarship has focused on the role of rhetoric, as a human activity, in the shaping of societies. His publications have dealt with the need for argument to be more heavily featured in the teaching of public speaking as a means of empowering citizens. In addition, he has focused on the ways in which citizens worked, prior to World War II, to influence public opinion on American entry into the war in Europe. In October 2010, Dr. Denman received the Sid Bell Memorial Award granted by the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union. Bill was instrumental in organizing the West Virginia affiliate of the ACLU in the late 1960s, and in recognition of his forty years of service and four terms as President, the William Denman Youth Activist Scholarship was named in his honor. He retired from Marshall as Professor Emeritus.