University of Oklahoma Instructor Selected for Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship by Television Academy

University of Oklahoma Instructor Traci Easley Williams has been selected for an Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship by the Television Academy Foundation in Hollywood. She is one of 18 professors selected from colleges and universities nationwide for the 2025 fellowship program.

Since 2021, the Foundation has offered Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships, established by the Harry & Judy Friedman Family Foundation, in honor of the late television icon and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, which provide financial support for educators from community colleges and minority-serving institutions to attend its annual Media Educators Conference. The three-day conference, held at the Television Academy’s North Hollywood campus in California Oct. 22-24, 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 with prominent leaders in entertainment.

Williams is a lecturer at the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and an accomplished filmmaker, writer, and educator. With over two decades of experience in film, television, and higher education, she has guided over 25 award-winning student productions in scriptwriting, film, and television.

Currently completing her Ph.D. in Media Studies at the University of Oklahoma, Williams is the author of “Black Hollywood” and “Women and People of Color in Digital Media”. Her scholarship explores teaching frameworks, symbolic annihilation, and culturally responsive pedagogy in media education, and she has presented her research at major conferences including AEJMC and BEA.

As a producer, Williams has overseen numerous projects, most recently Neon (2024), OU's first student feature film, along with pilots and short films through Greenlight Creative Productions and Kent State Independent Films. Her background includes casting work for major studios and on-air talent experience for a teen television program, which sparked her dedication to storytelling and representation.

Williams has been honored with OU's 2025 "Teacher of the Year Award" and BEA's "Innovative Teaching Award" and is an active public speaker addressing media bias and diversity nationally and internationally.