‘Jeopardy!’ Airing First-Ever Professors Tournament

Jeopardy! is bringing a new challenge to the country’s educators with its first-ever Professors Tournament, reports TV Line. Mayim Bialik will host the 10-day event pitting instructors from 15 colleges and universities against one another in what the show is calling “the ultimate test of higher education.” Kicking off Monday, Dec. 6 and airing on weeknights through Friday, Dec. 17, the tournament has an impressive $100,000 grand prize for the winner, as well as a seat in the upcoming Tournament of Champions.

“It was an unbelievable thrill to see so many brilliant professors from all kinds of schools and backgrounds come together on the Jeopardy! stage,” Bialik said in a statement. “There was a sense of kinship and academic camaraderie among the group, along with a healthy dose of competitiveness. That energy made this inaugural Professors Tournament incredibly special.”

The 15 educators set to compete in the tournament are:

•  Deborah Steinberger, a Professor of French Literature at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del.
•  Julia Williams, a Professor of English at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind.
• Ashleigh Lawrence-Sanders, an Assistant Professor of U.S. and African American History at University of Colorado-Boulder in Boulder, Colo.
• Katie Reed, an Associate Professor of Musicology at California State University Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif.

• Gary Hollis, a Professor of Chemistry at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.
• Alisa Hove, a Professor of Botany at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C.

• John Harkless, an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
• Ed Hashima, a Professor of History at American River College in Sacramento, Calif.

• Ramón Guerra, a Professor of English, Literature, and Latino Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
• Gautam Hans, an Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville, Tenn.

• Marti Canipe, a Professor of Elementary Science at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz.
• Lisa Dresner, an Associate Professor of Writing at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

• Hester Blum, a Professor of English at Penn State University in University Park, Pa.
• Sam Buttrey, a Professor of Operations Research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

• J.P. Allen, a Professor of Business at the University of San Francisco in San Francisco, Calif.