Aaron Trammell Named Higher Education Video Game Association Fellow

Aaron Trammell, professor of informatics at UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, was inducted as a Higher Education Video Game Association fellow on June 27, 2025, at the Games for Change (G4C) Festival in New York City. Trammell is one of five new members inducted.

Established in 2017, The Higher Education Video Game Alliance Fellows Program recognizes senior scholars in the games domain who have made significant contributions to the field in design, theory or research. HEVGA fellows are selected via nomination and election from current fellows who are pioneers and luminaries in the field. “Induction recognizes the tireless work of those who have made games in higher education a reality,” says Jonathan Elmergreen, executive director of HEVGA, in the notification letter. Fellows serve as ambassadors for the organization and are inducted as lifetime members.

“I’m honored to be included as a HEVGA fellow,” says Trammell. “I think it shows how our department’s games area is one of the strongest in the world as we are now all on this very exclusive list of scholars.”

Trammell also has affiliations in African American studies, culture and theory, visual studies and media studies. He has written several books on how tabletop games further values of white privilege and hegemonic masculinity in geek culture. Trammell is a founder of the journal Analog Game Studies and the series co-editor for both the Tabletop Gaming series at University of Michigan Press and the Postmillenial Pop series at NYU Press. Trammell has also served as chair of Indiecade’s jury committee. He directs the Diana Jones Award’s Emerging Designer Program, which creates a pathway for up-and-coming designers to break into the tabletop industry.

Trammell joins the entire informatics tenure-track games faculty who have been named HEVGA fellows. This includes Kurt Squire, Constance Steinkuehler and Katie Salen Tekinbas.