Michael K. Fauntroy is an American political scientist. He was formerly a professor in the political science department at Howard University, where he has also been the associate chair. In 2018 he became the acting director of the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center at Howard University. He studies African American politics, interest groups, and American political parties and partisanship. In 2021, he takes on a new role at George Mason University where he previously spent 11 years at prior to Howard. He has published books on the struggle for self-governance in Washington, D.C., and the relationship between African American voters and the Republican Party. Education and positions Fauntroy attended Hampton University, where he obtained a BA degree in Political Science. He then attended graduate school at Howard University, earning an MA degree in Public Affairs followed by a PhD in political science, with a focus on American government and African American political behavior. From 1993 to 1996, Fauntroy was a Civil Rights Analyst at The United States Commission on Civil Rights. Between 1998 and 2001, he taught at American University, The University of the District of Columbia, Trinity College, and Howard University. During those years he was also an analyst at The Congressional Research Service. In 2002 Fauntroy joined the faculty at George Mason University. In 2013, he moved to Howard University. Research Fauntroy has published several academic books. In 2003, he published Home Rule or House Rule? Congress and the Erosion of Local Governance in the District of Columbia. In Home Rule or House Rule?, Fauntroy studies the struggle for self-governance in Washington DC, which is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Congress under District of Columbia home rule without having any voting representation in Congress. Fauntroy argues that the home rule of Washington, DC has eroded local governance, largely because DC is subject to partisan fighting within the federal government. Fauntroy also points to specific instances in which the congressional representatives of DC's suburban neighbors have used their congressional powers to the detriment of the District, and in many cases Fauntroy argues this was motivated by racial animus. In 2007, Fauntroy published Republicans and the Black Vote, which was reprinted as a paperback in 2008. In Republicans and the Black Vote, Fauntroy studies the developments that caused the Republican Party to slide from nearly unanimous support among African Americans during The Reconstruction era