SOSU Professor Awarded Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Fellowship

Press Release Date: 11-15-2006

Dr. John Hendricks, professor of communication at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, has been awarded a Fellowship from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).

The selection process for the Fellowship is extremely competitive, with only 20 professors from across the nation awarded fellowships annually. Recipients are invited to attend a week-long faculty seminar in Los Angeles, California. The seminar provides exclusive access to the Hollywood television production community.

Hendricks recently returned from the seminar, which examined a number of areas, including the role of producers and writers, network and cable decision-making, employment in the television industry, and behind-the-scenes tours of movie studios. Hendricks toured the set of the Young and the Restless and watched as the actors taped an episode of the soap opera. He also visited with Mrs. Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created the show in 1973. Bell is the co-creator of the Bold and the Beautiful.

The seminar allowed attendees access to Zoic Studios and the opportunity to learn how special effects are created in movies. In addition, attendees watched a taping of the Jay Leno show and then received a behind-the-scenes tour of the show’s dressing rooms, the Green Room, and the former Johnny Carson studio (which is now the studio for Access Hollywood). Attendees also attended a panel session with the actors of Boston Legal and its creator, David E. Kelly, and listened as they explained how the show is produced each week.

Hendricks has also been the recipient of Fellowships from the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) in New York and the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) in Las Vegas.

Boston Legal’s, Candace Bergen visits with Dr. John Hendricks.