Roy Schwartzman was born in Atlanta, Georgia. During high school at Pace Academy, he excelled in public speaking, theater, and policy debate. He won multiple extemporaneous speaking tournaments and the state one-act play competition. Roy and his debate partner Matt Towery won the National Bicentennial Debates, the Barkley Forum, and the Superbowl of Debate in their senior year.

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In the Honors Program at the University of Georgia, Roy majored in Philosophy and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, and with highest honors in Philosophy.

 

Roy earned his Ph.D. at the University of Iowa, where his dissertation Racial Science, Nazism and the Genesis of Genocide won the National Communication Association Outstanding Dissertation Award. His dissertation committee consisted of John Lyne (director), Bruce Gronbeck, Michael Calvin McGee, and Deirdre McCloskey.

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In 2023, Roy was hired as a tenured full professor and Co-Director of the Campus Writing & Speaking Program at North Carolina State University. He has published more than 150 scholarly articles and book chapters (approximately 30 co-authored with students) and over 350 poems. His work has won more than 20 research awards and 60 literary awards.