About Kawachi A, Clemons, Ph.D.

Dr. Kawachi A. Clemons brings 25 years of experience in higher education as an administrator, faculty member, composer, and conductor. He is currently the Dean of the School of Arts, Entertainment, and Design at Valencia College. Previously, he served as Vice Provost of Academics, Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives at Virginia State University, where he was also a tenured Professor of Music and Executive Director of the Center for Creative and Entertainment Arts. Prior to that, Dr. Clemons spent nearly a decade at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in various leadership roles, including Chair of the Department of Music, founding Director of the Institute for Research in Music and Entertainment Industry Studies, Coordinator of Music Education, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Beyond academia, Dr. Clemons has contributed to the entertainment industry, co-producing, engineering, and scoring music for Sony Pictures Entertainment's acclaimed animated series The Boondocks alongside GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Patrick "9th Wonder" Douthit. A sought-after speaker, Dr. Clemons presents nationally and internationally on entertainment, arts, culture, and education. He has been invited to speak at Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya), Diverse: Issues in Higher Education's John Hope Franklin Symposium, the Florida Music Educators Association, the American Institutes for Research, Steinway & Sons, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

He earned the bachelor's degree in music education from FAMU and a master of music degree in performing arts management from Florida International University.  He received the Ph.D. in Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Clemons is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Rotary International,  J.R.E. Lee, Sr., Lodge #422 (PHA), Ahmed Temple #37 (AEAONMS), the National Association for Music Education, American Educational Research Association, American Educational Studies Association, and the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association.

His outstanding contribution in the field of educational leadership earned him the prestigious honor of the International Lions Club Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, the highest form of recognition that embodies humanitarian ideas consistent with the nature and purpose of Lionism named after its founder.