Palm Beach Atlantic University announced that Dr. Thomas Parham, a professor of communication and media studies and associate dean for the College of the Arts, has been selected as an Alex Trebek Legacy Fellow by the Television Academy Foundation in Hollywood. He is among 18 professors chosen from colleges and universities across the United States for the 2025 fellowship program.
The Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships were established by the Harry & Judy Friedman Family Foundation to honor the late television host Alex Trebek. Since 2021, these fellowships have provided financial support for educators from community colleges and minority-serving institutions to attend the annual Media Educators Conference hosted by the Television Academy Foundation. The three-day conference will take place at the Television Academy’s North Hollywood campus in California from October 22 to 24, offering seminars led by leaders in entertainment on topics related to television art, science, and business.
Dr. Parham graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and served seven years on active duty as a Surface Warfare Officer before pursuing graduate degrees in performing arts and communication studies. His industry experience includes working at Paramount Pictures as supervisor of publishing for its licensing division during the mid-1990s and contributing to over 100 episodes of broadcast television. He wrote for CBS drama “JAG,” worked on Family Channel’s “Big Brother Jake,” and was a writers’ assistant for “Touched by an Angel” during its third season.
His academic career includes teaching roles at Biola University and Azusa Pacific University, where he created screenwriting degree programs and chaired the Department of Cinematic Arts. Dr. Parham has received several awards such as Fulbright Canada Research Chair (2025), Azusa Pacific’s Undergraduate Faculty Scholarly Achievement Award (2013), and Act One’s Faculty Award (2007). He has contributed chapters to media studies books, with his monograph “Hailing Frequencies Open”: Communication in Star Trek: The Next Generation published by McFarland & Company in 2019.
According to information provided by Palm Beach Atlantic University, “Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Television Academy Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of television while educating and inspiring those who will shape its future.” The Foundation offers educational initiatives including The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Project, Access: Behind the Screens, College Television Awards, Student Internship Program, and Media Educators Conference. More details about their work can be found at https://TelevisionAcademy.com/Foundation.
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