Dr. Michael L. Clemons is associate professor of political science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is former director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, and former founding director of Old Dominion's African American and African Studies program. Prior to these positions, Dr. Clemons served as an administrator in the areas of institutional research, planning, academic assessment, and data management at several institutions, including Old Dominion University, SUNY College at Oswego, and Georgia State University. He was awarded B.A. and M.A. degrees respectively in government and politics and in urban studies from the University of Maryland College Park, where he was also received the Certificate in African American Studies. He later earned the Ph.D. degree in political science from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta) where he specialized in American politics and international politics with an emphasis on the domestic and global political behavior of African Americans.

Dr. Clemons is the founding editor of The Journal of Race and Policy, a peer reviewed scholarly publication dedicated to the study of the intersection between race and policy in American society and in the global arena. The journal is currently in its ninth year of publishing. During fall, 2012, he initiated establishment of the Journal of Race and Policy (JRP) Consortium (comprised of several major colleges and universities) to support the journal's mission.

Dr. Clemons authored the edited volume, African Americans and Global Affairs: Contemporary Perspectives, published fall 2010 by Northeastern University Press. In 2012, this book was recognized by Choice as one of its Outstanding Academic Titles (OAT).  Clemons is currently completing a manuscript on the international participation of African Americans titled, The Logic of African American Global Participation: A Theoretical and Contextual Approach. Dr. Clemons is active in numerous community organizations and initiatives, and he currently serves as secretary on the Board of Trustees of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Living Memorial and Policy Center, Richmond, Virginia.