The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) recently announced that Clovis E. Semmes, Ph.D., has been named Director of its Black Studies Program. Currently a Visiting Professor of UMKC’s Black Studies, Semmes will assume his new role effective Sept. 1, 2009.

“I am honored to partner with UMKC to help build the kind of high quality Black Studies Program that students deserve and that befits a world-class university,” said Semmes.

Semmes also is Professor of African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), Ypsilanti, Mich., where he has spent the last 20 years. While there, he received numerous Faculty Recognition and Research awards. In 2008, he was selected as one of EMU’s 18th Annual Teaching Excellence honorees. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. His book, “Cultural Hegemony and African American Development,” was selected by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Book.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Semmes as a faculty member in the College and look forward to working with him in the development of the Black Studies program.”

Semmes has served as Acting Director of Black Studies at the University of Illinois and Assistant Director of Admissions and Coordinator of Admissions and Financial Aid for Minority Students at Northwestern University. His scholarship and research have been interdisciplinary and focused on the impact of systemic inequality on the institutional and cultural development of African Americans.

Education:

Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., Ph.D., Sociology, 1978

University of Illinois, Chicago, M.A., Sociology, 1972

Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., B. A., Sociology, 1971

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a three-part mission: visual and performing arts, health sciences, and urban engagement.