Kalamazoo’s Own James Denison Takes Jeopardy By Storm

James Denison, who works for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, has one back-to-back episodes and is going for a winning streak Tuesday night on Jeopardy.

Friday night, James Denison was able to capture his first victory, according to the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, which put out a press release over the weekend. Detailing his win and winnings:

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The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is proud to share that James Denison, PhD, Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow at the KIA, has won as a contestant on Jeopardy! on Friday, March 6, 7:30–8:00 p.m with a grand prize total of $36,199!

Then on Monday night, he returned and had a phenomenal game, which led to him winning back-to-back episodes.

On Final Jeopardy, he was the only person to get the correct question correct, when he wagered 14,599 of $31,000, which led to him winning $45,599.

That was good enough to give him the win and a two-day total of $81,798. The game was very close after 30 clues, but quickly turned one-sided as James was able to pick up nearly $13,000 from daily doubles. He looks to gain the winning streak tonight on his third episode.

Since 2023 he has worked at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts as a postdoctoral curatorial fellow and at Kalamazoo College as a visiting assistant professor of art history. At the KIA, some of his main projects have included the KIA’s centennial exhibition Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century, the museum’s collection catalogue 101 Legendary Selections from the KIA, and new installations in the permanent collection galleries.