October 19, 2001

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship awarded to Craig Martin

LAWRENCE -- Craig E. Martin, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has received a Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship. The award, which recognizes excellence in the classroom, and the accompanying stipend will continue for as long as Martin is active in teaching at the University of Kansas.

Martin said it was an incredible award and a humbling honor.

"I put tremendous energy into my teaching at KU," he said. "I try to make things in the classroom as enjoyable as possible for the students. It's extremely gratifying to realize that students appreciate that."

Martin joined the KU faculty in 1980 and has been a full professor since 1991. Described by his colleagues as a gifted teacher with boundless energy, Martin teaches a range of graduate and undergraduate courses, including the large introductory course to non-biology majors. In all venues, he challenges students to think and to synthesize.

"Craig Martin exemplifies excellence in teaching, both in the classroom and in his research work with students," said Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway. "It is an honor to recognize his hard work and dedication with the Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship."

Martin received his undergraduate degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara and his doctorate from Duke University. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Martin is an active researcher and always has a large number of undergraduates conducting research in his laboratory or in the field. A number of these students have worked on projects that have resulted in presentations at scientific meetings and in publications.

Other awards Martin has received include the H. Bernerd Fink Award, the Mortar Board Outstanding Educator Award (1984, 1992) and the Kemper Teaching Fellowship (1996). He has been a H.O.P.E. Award finalist many times.

"We are grateful to the Chancellors Club for providing the means to acknowledge the accomplishments of superb teachers like Craig Martin," said Provost David E. Shulenburger. "His devotion to students has a continuing impact on the teaching of science at KU, and his work will continue to influence individuals and the profession. The University of Kansas is fortunate indeed to have teachers of such quality and talent."

The Chancellors Club, established in 1977 by the Kansas University Endowment Association, recognizes KU's major donors.

The Kansas University Endowment Association is an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university and one of the largest.