Alex Trebek to support endowed chair at Stephen’s College

Alex Trebek, most famous for his longtime role as the host of “Jeopardy!”, and his wife Jean will be funding a faculty position for Stephen’s College’s new Master of Fine Arts in TV and Screenwriting.

The Alex and Jean Trebek Family Foundation will support an endowed chair in screenwriting, the guest lectureship in the psychology of character. It is the first foundation support for the program, which has received support from Winnie Holzman, best known for creating the ABC series “My So Called Life,” and Linda Woolverton, who wrote the 2014 hit “Maleficent,” among other women writers.

The Trebek family are friends of program director Ken LaZebnik. LeZebnik, a Columbia native, is a screenwriter in Los Angeles. The families’ children attended school together.

“Jean is the sweetest person in the world. I just wrote a letter to her, knowing they have a family foundation and knowing of her interest in psychology,” LaZebnik said. “They made a quick decision to give us the support.”

The low-residency M.F.A. program is currently enrolling students for August 2015 and will give students the opportunity to work online with professional mentors most of the semester, and spend 10 days each semester taking classes at the Jim Henson Studios in L.A.