New director takes helm of University Honors

by Tom Parisi

Michael Martin's career move was definitely a smart choice. As the new director of the University Honors Program, the NIU faculty veteran gets to work with nearly 1,000 of the brightest and most highly motivated students on campus. "I really think I have the best administrative job at NIU," says Martin, who took the reins of the honors program in July. He replaces Professor Jay Wagle, who resumed his teaching duties in the Department of Marketing. The university names a new honors director every three years.

Michael Martin

University Honors is designed to provide an enhanced educational experience to academically talented NIU students. Enrollment has grown modestly in recent years, with about 6 percent of the undergraduate student population participating in honors.

Martin, who lives in DeKalb, has been an NIU faculty member in the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences for nearly two decades. He's no stranger to University Honors, having taught in the program. He also has served on the Honors Committee for three years.

What Martin likes best about his new post is the student interaction. He meets daily with honors participants and will sign off on each capstone project, the undergraduate honors equivalent to a master's thesis. "My goal is to strengthen what's already a strong program," he says.

Top priorities include expanding the number of honors seminars and course offerings. Martin also wants to increase participation in the Honors House, which provides honors students with a residential living-learning environment in the C-Wing of Douglas Hall. Honors House enrollment jumped from 94 students last year to about 135 students this fall.

"We've filled three floors in Douglas at this point, and we ultimately hope to fill five floors," Martin says. "The program offers young scholars a range of experiences, from `dine-and-discuss' sessions with professors to museum and concert outings."

Martin says he also aims to increase the diversity among students in University Honors. "It's above the national average — more than 15 percent of our honors students are ethnic minorities — but I'd like to do even better," he says.

Martin earned his Ph.D. in child and family development from the University of Georgia. He is an accomplished researcher in the area of child abuse and neglect and helped found a statewide child abuse prevention organization. He also has served as a board member for the DeKalb County Youth Services Bureau and as a member of NIU's University Council, Faculty Senate and Graduate Council.

"Michael Martin is an outstanding member of our faculty," says NIU Vice Provost Robert Wheeler, adding that Martin was selected from a pool of four strong applicants for the top post in University Honors.

"He's a skilled negotiator, and that's necessary for this position because the director must relate with numerous areas, from academic departments to Housing and Dining Services," Wheeler adds. "Dr. Martin also is an active scholar, has extensive knowledge of the university community and is extremely energetic. Obviously, he loves his work—and that's a huge plus."