Dr. Clay Motley

A native of Richmond, Kentucky, Dr. Clay Motley is glad to be back in his Old Kentucky Home as part of WKU’s Honors College, after spending a decade in South Carolina. Dr. Motley earned his B.A. in English from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. in English from Eastern Kentucky University, and then he headed south to the University of South Carolina, where he earned a Ph.D. in Early American Literature and Southern Literature. Dr. Motley spent the next six years as an English faculty member at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina, where he taught a wide-range of courses, such as Early-American Literature, the Modern Novel, Southern Literature, the Modern Short Story, and African American Literature. Dr. Motley spent the last four years in Charleston as the Honors Program Director.

At WKU, Dr. Motley is working to make the Honors College a national leader in Honors education and a vital contributor to WKU’s mission through developing the Honors College’s curriculum and working with faculty to create an engaged and innovative education for students. Dr. Motley also frequently teaches Honors English and colloquia courses.

When he is not on top of “the hill” in the Honors Center or in the classroom, Dr. Motley primarily helps his wife Christie keep their young daughter, Mia, fed, clothed, clean, and alive. In his sparse free time, he loves to practice guitar, and will one fine day play and “duck walk” like Chuck Berry. Dr. Motley loves a wide variety of music, but his taste can best be described as “Wilco-esk.” He loves to “span the globe” while cooking dishes from such cuisines as French, Spanish, Mexican, and Cajun/Creole. Now that he is back in Kentucky, he hopes to make the pilgrimage to Lebowskifest.

 

Phone: (270) 745-3171
Email: clay.motley@wku.edu