Professor to represent Warren Wilson College on ‘JEOPARDY!’

Dr. Alisa Hove gets ready to compete in Professors Tournament

The Valley Echo
November 30, 2021

Warren Wilson College Professor of Botany and Biology Chair Dr. Alisa Hove will be one of 15 educators who will compete in the first-ever JEOPARDY! Professors Tournament, beginning Dec. 6. Photo courtesy of Warren Wilson College

Swannanoa Valley residents who tune into the first JEOPARDY! Professors Tournament next week will have no trouble finding a player to root for, because one contestant will be representing Warren Wilson College. 

Dr. Alisa Hove, professor of botany and chair of the biology department at the Swannanoa college, will be one of 15 professors competing for the $100,000 grand prize. 

The tournament begins Monday, Dec. 6 and airs on consecutive weeknights until a champion is crowned on Friday, Dec. 17. Hove will premiere on Friday, Dec. 10.

 “I’ve loved JEOPARDY! since watching it with my family almost every night as a kid,” Hove said. “So having the opportunity to stand on that stage, see the questions in person, and participate with such a talented group of professors was a kind of a dream come true.”

Hove will compete against Dr. J.P. Allen, professor of business and innovation at the University of San Francisco, and Dr. Deborah Steinberger, associate professor of French literature at the University of Delaware.

The tournament is hosted by Mayim Bialik, an American actress known for her roles as Amy Farrah Fowler on “The Big Bang Theory,” Blossom Russo on “Blossom” and Kat on “Call Me Kat.” 

“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 about the tournament. “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.”