Illinois | College of Media

Faculty Profiles

Alison Davis Wood

507 E. Green St., Room 351
(217) 244-7433
adwood1@illinois.edu

Education

BS, Broadcast Journalism, University of Illinois (1990)

Affiliations

Lab Instructor, Journalism
Producer, Illinois Campus Programming/Big Ten Network

Course Specialties

Television 1 (Journ 440)
Reporting 1 (Journ 400)

Background

Alison Davis Wood has been producing national documentaries for more than a decade. Her programs have received numerous awards including 14 Emmy nominations.

Alison Davis Wood won an Emmy Award in 1999 for her documentary, "Walter Burley Griffin: In His Own Right" about the talented, but overlooked Illinois architect. The Emmy was presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Chicago/Midwest Chapter for Outstanding Achievement for Documentary ProgramsCultural Significance.

Her documentary "Against the Wind," the story of wheelchair athlete Jean Driscoll's attempt to become the first athlete to win seven consecutive Boston Marathons, was named best Television Documentary in 1997 by American Women in Radio and Television. She was one of 20 producers selected to attend the 2001 WGBH Boston Producers Workshop, where she participated in extensive hands-on training with some of television's most experienced producers.

Wood's other productions include 2009's "Lincoln: Prelude to the Presidency" and 2004's "Gold Star Mothers: Pilgrimage of Remembrance." She was nominated for an Emmy for writing "Ten Sisters: A True Story."

Wood began producing documentaries for the Big Ten Network when she joined Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics / Public Affairs in April of 2008. Before that she worked at WILL-TV (PBS). A native of Springfield, Ill., she was the longtime producer and host of Prairie Fire, a cultural magazine series about the people and places of central Illinois.

Wood's husband Rob, who is a farmer in east central Illinois, is also an alumnus of Illinois. They live in Champaign with their three sons.