Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert issued the following statement today upon learning of the sudden passing of faculty member Danny Ray.
“The entire Marshall community was deeply saddened today to learn one of our valued faculty members has passed away.
“I got a chance to meet Danny a few weeks ago at the John Marshall Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament. He welcomed me into the competition and we even took a ‘selfie’ photo together with some of the students. He was a dedicated mentor who rebuilt Marshall’s speech and debate team and helped make it one of the leading teams in the entire country.
“We will all remember his spirit and contributions to the Marshall family. He was a true son of Marshall.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.”
A graduate of Marshall, Ray was an instructor in the Department of Communication Studies and coached the university’s award-winning “Thundering Word” Speech and Debate Team.
Just this weekend, the team competed in the 2016 West Virginia Intercollegiate Forensics Association (WVIFA) tournament—winning the state title for the sixth consecutive time. The “Thundering Word” brought home first-place awards in Combined Sweepstakes and Individual Events Sweepstakes, as well as second place in Debate Sweepstakes.
Ray joined the Marshall faculty in August 2010 and taught classes including Intercollegiate Debate, Fundamentals of Speech Communication and Special Topics in Forensic Competition. He currently served as the president of WVIFA.