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Chief of Staff to the President

Karla Leeper

Karla Leeper earned bachelor's degrees in communication studies and political science at the University of Iowa in 1985. She received a master's degree and then a doctoral degree in rhetoric and argumentation from the University of Kansas in 1993. Her areas of research are political communication, and argumentation and public deliberation.

A member of the Baylor communication studies faculty since 1992, Leeper has served Baylor in several positions, including associate professor and chair of the communication studies department. As director of the award-winning Baylor debate program, she held The Glenn R. Capp Endowed Chair in Forensics. She is a winner of the George Ziegelmueller Award for excellence in directing forensics, the Donn W. Parson Outstanding Young Forensics Educator Award and the National Federation of Interscholastic Speech and Debate Association Service Award.

Leeper has served as president of the American Forensics Association and chair of the National Debate Tournament committee.

She is active in the Waco community, serving as the director of GEAR UP Waco's Project Democracy program and participating as a facilitator in the City of Waco Visioning Project.