Dr. Motley is a native Kentuckian who also lived for ten years in South Carolina before making his way to Southwest Florida. Since 2004, he has held leadership roles in honors programs and colleges at three different universities, and his primary professional responsibilities at FGCU focus on leading the College of Arts & Sciences. His scholarship focuses on the culture of the US South, such as its popular music and religion. He teaches on the history of popular American music, is currently writing a book-length music history of Clarksdale, Mississippi and frequently present and publish and topics related to the Mississippi Delta. He is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Society for the Study of Southern Literature.