Dewey Clayton – Distinguished Teaching Award Recipient

The APSA Distinguished Teaching Award honors the outstanding contribution to undergraduate and graduate teaching of political science at two- and four-year institutions. The contribution may span several years or an entire career, or it may be a single project of exceptional impact.

Classroom PhotoDr. Dewey M. Clayton, Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Louisville, is the recipient of the 2016 American Political Science Association Distinguished Teaching Award. During his long and illustrious career, Dr. Clayton has proved to be a dedicated, inspirational and innovative instructor and mentor, positively impacting the lives of his students, even long after they graduate. He embraces a range of pedagogical techniques, including face‐to‐face instruction, distance learning, and community‐wide active learning projects. His award‐winning “Political Discourse” class, which combines public speaking with political discourse from the civil rights movement, exemplifies his innovative efforts to extend teaching beyond the classroom and into the community. This recognition of Dr. Clayton for his contributions to political science teaching is a well‐deserved.

Professor Clayton has received numerous awards and honors during his academic career at the University of Louisville. These include the University of Louisville Presidential Multicultural Teaching Award, the National Conference of Black Political Scientists Outstanding Teaching Award, the Kentuckiana Metroversity Award for Instructional Development, and the University of Louisville Cultural Center Black Image Award.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, a Master of Public Administration degree from North Carolina Central University (cum laude) in Durham, North Carolina, and a Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1995 where he was a Chancellor’s Gus T. Ridgel Academic Fellow.

Dr. Clayton is the author of two books, African Americans and the Politics of Congressional Redistricting, (Routledge Press), and The Presidential Campaign of Barack Obama:  A Critical Analysis of a Racially Transcendent Strategy (Taylor and Francis Press) and numerous publications in books and scholarly journals.  Professor Clayton regularly gives interviews to the local, state, national, and international media on political issues.  He is a frequent columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper.

 

Special thanks to our committee Sherri Wallace (Chair), University of Louisville; Jacqui Briggs, University of Lincoln; Richard Holtzman, Bryant University