Michael is a Professor of Lighting Design in the Drama Department of Stanford University and he also serves as an Honorary Professor at the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing.   He has taught regularly at the Bavarian Theater Academy Munich and as a Guest Professor at the University of Arts Belgrade in the Interdisciplinary MA Program in Theater Design as well as at Trinity College, Dublin.  Professor Ramsaur was awarded a Fulbright Grant to lecture at the National University of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan. He has given lectures or workshop in 19 countries.

Michael has had a 40-year career in theater including owning and operating San Francisco Theatrical Supply, a stage lighting sales and rental company. He has served as Lighting Designer, designing over 200 productions for many theater companies in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, including Berkeley Repertory Theater, San Jose Civic Light Opera, West Bay Opera, Scholar Opera, Lamplighters, TheatreWorks, and the Broadway by the Bay where he is the resident lighting designer having designed over 70 productions.

He has been awarded Outstanding Lighting Design awards from the San Francisco Bay Area Critics Association (most recently for the 2010 production of Les Cage Aux Folles), Dean Goodman Award, and Drama Logue Award.  His articles on lighting techniques have been published in three countries and he has created a computerized software program to aid lighting designers.