Biography
Dr. Michael V. Martin became president of New Mexico State University on July 1, 2004.
An academic leader dedicated to the land-grant mission of teaching, research and extension service, Dr. Martin was named the recipient of the Justin Smith Morrill Memorial Award in 2007. This national award, named after the author of the bill creating land-grant universities, honors and recognizes outstanding service on behalf of the land-grant mission. Only six individuals have been designated to receive this award since it was first given in 1980.
One has only to look at his three years at NMSU to understand why Dr. Martin has been asked to join this distinguished group. He has established the One University concept and called for a five-year plan titled "Living the Vision" to take the university to "the next level." Convinced that NMSU is a hidden jewel in higher education, Dr. Martin laid the groundwork for universitywide extension and created the J. Paul Taylor Social Justice Symposium. In his short time at NMSU, the first capital campaign was established with a goal of raising $150 million by 2010. The campaign met its goal in the first half of the seven-year fundraising plan and the university is now headed toward a new goal of $225 million. Also during his tenure, Dr. Martin has focused on research conducted at the university. He oversaw the establishment of a system of research clusters that revolve around five areas in which NMSU scientists and researchers have expertise: 21st century aerospace, information sciences, bioscience, southwest border issues, and natural resources. Expenditures on research and public service are at $165.4 million annually.
Dr. Martin also is a recognized leader in the state, being named a powerbroker by the New Mexico Business Weekly in 2006. He continues to be active as a scholar and has written numerous book chapters and articles for academic journals, trade publications and the popular press. He recently has published pieces for The Chronicle of Higher Education and University Business. Named the Outstanding Alumnus of Minnesota State University Mankato in 2006, Dr. Martin also received the NMSU Social Justice Award in 2005.
Before coming to NMSU, he served for six years as vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida, leading the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences with more than 3,000 employees statewide. He was elevated to senior vice president of the University of Florida shortly before being selected as NMSU's president.
Previously, he was vice president for agricultural policy and the dean of the college of agricultural, food and environmental sciences at the University of Minnesota. He began his academic career at Oregon State University as a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
A native of Crosby, Minn., Dr. Martin completed a bachelor's degree in business and economics and a master's degree in economics at Mankato State College (Minnesota State University) in Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. in applied economics from the University of Minnesota in 1977. His areas of specialization are marketing, prices, international trade, public policy, transportation and business logistics.
Some of his philosophy is summed up in the following quote: "It is the tradition of land-grant universities to be non-traditional," written as part of a 2001 article titled "The Land-Grant University in the 21st Century," published in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. He traced the history of the land-grant movement from the mid-1800s and concluded that "the fundamental land-grant principles of accessibility, practical as well as classical education, research and discovery in the public interest, and connectedness to all the people remain powerful and profound."
He has been active in professional and community service organizations, including the Farm Foundation’s Bennett Agricultural Round Table, the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council and the Florida Agricultural Resource Mobilization Foundation. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Agricultural Economics Association, the International Association of Agricultural Economics, the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Sigma XI Scientific Research Society and the Economic History Association.
Dr. Martin and his wife Jan have two children, both adopted from South Korea. Amanda, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is a graphic artist in Saint Paul, Minn. Sam, with a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s from Sarah Lawrence college, is a genetics counselor at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City.