The Television Academy Foundation, the charitable arm of the Television Academy, has announced the establishment of the Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship Fund, in honor of the beloved Jeopardy! host who died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.
The foundation, launched with a gift of $50,000 from Jeopardy! Executive Producer Harry Friedman and his Harry & Judy Friedman Family Foundation, the fund will provide “a select number of need-based fellowships” to college and university educators.
The Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships will fund these educators’ participation in the Television Academy Foundation’s annual Faculty Conference. The event, which “connects college classrooms with the television industry by providing media professors with curriculum-enhancing seminars on the latest in the art, science and business of television,” will be held virtually from November 15-17. Other funds from the charity will support the conference itself.
When the conference returns to an in-person format, the fellowships will fund educators’ travel and lodging to the event. Fittingly, one of this year’s conference panels is called, “The Art of the Game: Careers in Quiz and Game Shows,” in which 19-time Emmy winner Friedman will participate.
Initially, 25 college and/or university educators from across the country will be granted the fellowships; those who wish to apply can find out more information at TelevisionAcademy.com/faculty-seminar.
In a statement, Friedman said the fellowships “will serve as a lasting tribute to our dear friend’s life and work.”
Trebek began hosting Jeopardy! when it launched on syndication in 1984, and continued until shortly before his death at age 80.
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