Schools

Framingham State University Appoints Interim President

Former Vice President for Academic Affairs Robert A. Martin has been appointed by the Board of Trustees to lead Framingham State University during its upcoming transition to a new president.

By Dan Magazu, Framingham State University

Former Vice President for Academic Affairs Robert A. Martin has been appointed by the Board of Trustees to lead Framingham State University during its upcoming transition to a new president.

Martin will take over as interim president in mid-August, as current President Timothy J. Flanagan steps down to accept the presidency at Illinois State University. 

“Dr. Martin is a well-known and highly respected member of the FSU community,” said Joe Burchill, chair of the Framingham State Board of Trustees.
“We have full confidence that he will do an excellent job leading the institution while a nationwide search is conducted for the next permanent president.” 

Martin served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at FSU from 2004 until his retirement in 2010. Since that time, he has remained active on campus, serving as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology and Philosophy. 

“Dr. Martin has intimate knowledge of the University’s academic programs and is held in high regard by our faculty and staff,” President Flanagan said. “This makes him uniquely qualified to lead the institution during this transitional period.”

Martin said he is honored and excited to lead Framingham State University and looks forward to building on the growth and success FSU has experienced in recent years. 

“I’m taking over at a time when the institution is in really good shape,” he said. “The faculty and staff are very committed to the University and there are a lot of really talented individuals here. A lot of work has been done in terms of strategic planning. I take that work to be a good road map of the destinations that the college wants to get to. I hope to help us continue to move toward those destinations.”

Two items coming up in 2014 that Dr. Martin expects to spend considerable time focusing on are the University’s 175th Anniversary, as well as the 10-year reaccreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. 

“I’m very much looking forward to working with the Board of Trustees, and truly appreciate the confidence they have in me,” Martin said. “One of the things I particularly enjoyed as a vice president was the fact that the trustees were a very thoughtful and engaged group, who took their task seriously.”

Martin holds a BA from Wesleyan University, and MA and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rochester. During his time as Vice President forAcademic Affairs he was instrumental in the creation of the Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service (CELTSS), which supports the professional development, research and creative activities of FSU faculty. He also oversaw the creation of several new graduate and undergraduate academic programs in the areas of Business and Information Technology, Business Administration, Environmental Science, Criminology, STEM Education and Nursing. 

“While I was here we were able to develop and launch five or six new major programs at the undergraduate and graduate level that helped broaden the University’s offerings and open FSU up to new populations of students,” Dr. Martin said. “The faculty and staff I worked with here played a major role in that.” 

He also furthered the assessment of student learning in academic programs and established the First-Year Foundations Program, which supports the academic and social transition of first-year students.

Martin said he is looking forward to working with the current faculty and staff at FSU. 

“Universities are exciting places to work because the important and significant changes that occur happen collaboratively,” Martin said.


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