Chief Sir Ernest Emenyonu is a Nigerian academic, who is an African literature critic and professor. He was formerly head of the department of English and Literary Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, in that order, through the 1980s and 1990s. He was also Provost of Alvan Ikoku College of Education now Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Educationˌ Owerri in Imo stateˌ Nigeria (1992–1995).^[1]

Ernest Nneji Emenyonu is one of the preeminent scholars in the world on African Literature.^[2][3] He has published biographies on notable writers such as Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi.^[4] While at the University of Calabar, Emenyonu founded and chaired the Calabar annual International Conference on African Literature and the English Language (ICALEL).^[5] This promoted interaction of African writers and critics with visiting international scholars.^{[citation needed]}

Emenyonu is a research professor at University of Michigan. He held the position of Head of Department of Africana Studies. Presently, he is the Editor of the oldest journal in the world on African literature, African Literature Today.^[6][7] He has made notable contributions to the University of Michigan-Flint such as bringing Nobel Prize winner in Literature Wole Soyinka, to the campus, as well as women's rights activist Nawal El Saadawi.^[8]

Emenyonu is a Knight of Saint Christopher, Anglican Communion.^[5] He is also a Chief in his hometown of Imo State, Nigeria. He was given the title Ugwu Mba 1 of Mbieri translated to mean "pride of his people."^[5] He is married to his longtime wife Patricia Emenyonu with four children and has three granddaughters.^{[citation needed]}