Dr. Eldonna May
Biography
A highly accomplished academic, Eldonna L. May, certified online professor, 2023 Fulbright Specialist (Ghana), 2016-17 Fulbright Scholar (“Core” Teaching & Research Program, Botswana), Chair Emerita of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women (COSW), is a veteran faculty member of the Department of Music and Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University, her specialty being Twentieth Century music history, notably music of women composers, American popular music, and music of the African diaspora/African-American music. The recipient of two Fraser Center Labor Education Development Grants, she is privileged to serve as a National Endowment for the Arts Panelist for Music, Theatre, and Musical Theatre. Additionally, Dr. May serves as the U.S. delegate (UNESCO) to the Pan-African Deans Education Forum (PADEF). She has published extensively on goal and motivation theory in online learning environments, as well as authoring numerous articles for prestigious publications including The New Grove Dictionary of Music, 2e, and Oxford/New Grove Online, SAGE/Golson Media’s Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, ABC-CLIO’s Music Around the World: A Global Encyclopedia; and her most recent book, Traditions in Western Music History (Kendall/Hunt 2025). An active scholar, she has presented and published papers at numerous national & international conferences in musicology and her research has been recognized by the British High Commission.
Courses Designed, Developed, and Taught by Dr. May:
FPC 1100: Computer Literacy in the Arts (online)
MUH 1351: History & Styles of Rock Music (online)
MUH 1370: Music Appreciation (online)
MUH 3320: Music History II (Late Baroque to mid-Romantic)
MUH 3330: Music History III (Late Romantic/Twentieth Century)
HON 4280: History of Film Music (synchronous online)
HON 4280: Poetry & Popular Music—Theory & Analysis (synchronous online)
HON 4280: Psychology of Music (synchronous online)
HON 4280: History of Hip-Hop
ELR 4500: Music Copyright: The Workplace & The Law (synchronous online; Cross-list w/HON 4280)
ELR 4500: Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining in American Popular Culture; Music, Television & Film (synchronous online; Cross-list w/HON4280)
Area of Expertise
- 20th Century Music (Opera and Oratorio)
- African-American Music
- American Popular Music
- Online Learning