“I had applied, but I truly didn’t expect to be chosen.” − That was the reaction of Dr. Sonali Kudva, Methodist University assistant professor of Communication & Media, after learning she had been selected for the Alex Trebek Legacy Award Fellowship through the Television Academy Foundation.
“I had applied, but I truly didn’t expect to be chosen.”
That was the reaction of Dr. Sonali Kudva, Methodist University assistant professor of Communication & Media, after learning she had been selected for the Alex Trebek Legacy Award Fellowship through the Television Academy Foundation.
“Methodist University isn’t a community college or officially a minority-serving institution, which are usually the focus of this award,” she said, who accepts the prestigious award with great humility. “I still don’t quite know why they picked me − but I feel incredibly privileged.”
Since 2021, the Foundation has offered fellowships in honor of the late television icon and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek and financially supported the award winner’s trips to its three-day conference, held at the Television Academy’s North Hollywood campus in California Oct. 22-24. The conference 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.
Born and raised in India, Kudva holds three master’s degrees and a Ph.D. She began her career in journalism after being hired on the spot by a newspaper editor who saw her potential.
“I call myself an accidental academic,” she said. “One opportunity led to another.”
Ironically, Kudva has never watched “Jeopardy!” because it wasn’t available in India.
“I had to watch a few highlight episodes,” she said. “Jeopardy never made its way to India, so I didn’t really know much about Alex Trebek.”
Kudva will participate in the academy’s engaging conference experience, which features behind-the-scenes opportunities, access to Netflix Studios, a Television Academy membership, and networking opportunities with professionals in the industry.
Kudva often incorporates global content into her classes, using examples from Indian cinemas; and other non-English speaking media to help students connect storytelling across cultures. Her classes often feature guest speakers from around the world, including faculty from China, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden.
As she prepares for her first trip to Los Angeles, Kudva says she’s eager to take it all in and bring that inspiration back to Methodist University.
“I’m proud to represent our students and our program,” she said. “Every opportunity I have, I see it as a way to make their learning experience richer.”
As an educator in the Communication, Composition & Rhetoric Division at MU, Kudva is committed to fostering a student-centered learning environment that emphasizes critical thinking, media literacy, and practical application. Her personal research agenda focuses on digital media use and its cultural impacts, including social media dynamics, misinformation, and information behavior. Her current academic interests extend to the role of artificial intelligence in communication practices.
Kudva’s passion for teaching and work in the classroom doesn’t go unnoticed by her colleagues.
“Dr. Kudva is a gifted educator and is very popular with students,” said J.R. Hustwit, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Sciences. “She is well known for provoking compelling classroom discussions about journalism, media ethics, and information literacy. I am impressed and pleased that she has been awarded the Trebek Fellowship, and grateful for the development opportunity it affords to media scholars.”