That’s Professor Palmer to you! Keke “Keep a Job” Palmer’s next gig is putting her in the classroom.
The 32-year-old Emmy-winning actress is joining the ranks of other notable artists, including Solange Knowles, by launching a five-year artist-in-residence program at the University of California’s School of Theater, Film and Television. The initiative will bring her to campus quarterly to lead workshops for students.
“UCLA TFT is a place where artists learn to be in practice, to experience trial and error, to take projects off the page,” the “I Love Boosters” star said in a release on Thursday.
“That is also the mission of KeyTV,” she continued. “We know that education is key to democratizing opportunities and I am eager to both learn from and support UCLA TFT students.”
Titled “From Blocking to Broadcast” and launching in the 2026-27 academic year, the program will bring the multi-hyphenate to campus to teach workshops covering a wide array including pitching, distribution strategy, business ownership, career sustainability and personal brand development. KeyTV, Palmer’s production company, will also distribute a minimum of three student projects annually, pending quality review, while providing students with direct experience in packaging, marketing and digital audience engagement.
According to the release, the school hopes the residency will create new pathways for TFT students by pairing one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile talents with its production training program. “The ‘Burbs” star, who got her start as a child actor and has gone on to build a career spanning film, television, music, producing, hosting, and entrepreneurship, will help connect student work with real-world audiences through KeyTV’s distribution platform. Beginning in the 2027-28 academic year, students will develop and produce original multimedia projects through a fully sponsored studio course guided by faculty and mentored by the “Baby It’s Keke” host.
“Diverse voices matter more than ever,” Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu said. “People of color and the underrepresented have always made counter cinemas and birthed social movements grounded in cinema as technology of resistance. Bringing an artist of Keke’s caliber into the spaces where our students are learning to develop their stories will inspire them to see and believe what is possible when you are willing to work hard and are committed to educating and uplifting one another.”
The dean added that Palmer, who launched KeyTV in 2021 and hosts a hit podcast, “has built a multifaceted career through tenacity and with the conviction that great artists create space for others to succeed alongside them.”
“That is one of the things we want our students to inhabit as they bring their stories to life,” Parreñas Shimizu continued. “To develop their singular voices while collaborating with and lifting each other up!”
Palmer added, “It is no small feat to pursue higher education, especially at a prestigious institution. I look forward to listening, encouraging and offering them more than one chance to succeed.”
