Biography
Micah J. Dobson, Ph.D., is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Sport Management in the Department of Health and Human Performance within the College of Business and Professional Studies at Johnson C. Smith University. His research examines equity, inclusion, and identity in sport through three connected areas: the experiences of HBCU student-athletes, including name, image, and likeness (NIL) policy and its equity implications; inclusive and socially just physical education; and sport as a vehicle for community development, cultural activism, and well-being. His work also addresses gentrification and race in urban spaces, after-school sport and recreation programs for underrepresented youth, and the success of first-generation college students and athletes.
Dr. Dobson is the author of Developing Inclusive Physical Education Programs in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2026). He wrote 12 of the book's 15 chapters, covering inclusive pedagogy, equal access, gender equality, after-school programming, health and wellness, and the role of the 21st-century physical educator. He is currently under contract with Routledge as lead editor of The Routledge Handbook of Hip Hop and Sport, Culture, and Activism, a volume exploring how hip-hop culture, athletics, and activism shape one another. He has also recently submitted a handbook proposal to Routledge's Sport and Leisure series, Beyond the Collective: NIL, Equity, and the Future of HBCU Athletics, which extends his research on how NIL is reshaping opportunity for HBCU athletes. His scholarship on urban gentrification includes "The Reconstruction of Raleigh, North Carolina: A Critical Analysis of Gentrification, Race, and Capitalism," published in the De Gruyter Handbook of the Geographies of Race (2026). He is also writing an undergraduate textbook on the economics and management of the FIFA World Cup 2026 for Human Kinetics, and his articles appear in journals including the African Journal of Sports and Physical Sciences and the European Journal of Applied Sciences.
Dr. Dobson's work has earned the 2026–2027 UNCF Henry C. McBay Faculty Research Fellowship, the 2026 Dean's Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty Research at Johnson C. Smith University, and SHAPE America's 2025 Dr. Doris R. Corbett-Johnson Leaders for Our Future Award. He serves as Associate Editor for Sport in Society, Assistant Editor for Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, a reviewer for Leisure Studies and SCHOLE, and an abstract reviewer for the SHAPE America National Convention & Expo. He has served on the NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant Program committee and was selected for the 2024 NCAA Division II FAR Fellows Institute. He presents and lectures internationally, with recent and upcoming engagements in South Africa, Greece, Kenya, and Brazil.
Hailing from New York City, NY, Dr. Dobson is happily married to Taina Roman-Dobson and shares his home with a dachshund-Yorkie mix named Luke. In his free time, he enjoys traveling (domestically and internationally), boxing, running marathons, and discovering new culinary experiences.
