From left: Greta Stahl, MSU's director of debate; senior Garrett Abelkop; junior Carly Wunderlich; and Will Repko, head debate coach. Abelkop and Wunderlich make up one of two MSU debate teams who will compete in the National Debate Tournament. Courtesy photo.

Garrett Abelkop, a MSU junior and member of the debate team, is seen during a recent match.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University’s debate team will tackle the Obama administration’s energy and climate priorities for its first 100 days as part of the first-ever Inauguration Debate Series to be held Jan. 19 in the nation’s capital.

The series, pitting six schools against each other in three 75-minute debates on the new administration’s policies, is being held as part of Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities and to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The debates, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, are inspired by the 100th anniversary of the first debates between historically black colleges and universities as depicted in the 2007 film “The Great Debaters.”

“This is an amazing time in the history of our country, and it is important for our future leaders to discuss the issues and policies that will have a lasting impact on their lives,” said Greta Stahl, the director of MSU’s debate team. “It is a tremendous opportunity for our team.”

MSU’s debate team won the National Debate Tournament in 2004 and 2006. The team participated in an Environmental Protection Agency debate on water use last spring and debated in a pair of national tournaments at the University of Southern California and California State University, Fullerton, earlier this month.

Five other college debate teams will join MSU, which will face off against Wake Forest University. Other participating schools include University of Mary Washington, University of Southern California, Fayetteville State University and Voorhees College.

MSU senior Garrett Abelkop of Alpharetta, Ga., and junior Carly Wunderlich of Brookfield, Wis., will debate for the Spartan team, which has a total of 12 members.

Abelkop, who is studying international relations in MSU's James Madison College, is in his fourth year of debate at MSU and has reached the elimination rounds of the National Debate Tournament twice. Wunderlich, a junior majoring in chemistry, is in her third year of debate and also has reached the elimination rounds of the National Debate Tournament.

The debates run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Baird Auditorium of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The series is presented by the National Museum of African American History and Culture in cooperation with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and with support of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Voorhees College and Fayetteville State University are part of a three-year White House initiative to reconstruct speech and debate teams at historically black colleges and universities.

To learn more about MSU's debate team, go to http://debate.msu.edu.

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