2021-22 Honoree - Dr. Judith Martinez

Assistant Professor, Department of World Languages and Cultures

Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts and Letters

Dr. Martinez researches representations of violence in contemporary Latin American Literature and Culture, revolving around topics of poverty, narco-narratives, patriarchy, and forced migration.  She’s created service learning courses in which MSU students provided online tutoring to migrant populations.  She developed the Bear Bridge faculty mentoring and support program for new faculty who identify as diverse.

Her work was recognized by the US Department of Education as an innovative approach that impacted these communities. Her student, Jesus Zavala, says it best, “Dr. Martinez is the incarnate embodiment of the Public Affairs mission that Missouri State strives to achieve. It is as if they took who she is as a person and educator and copied and pasted that onto Missouri State’s public affairs mission. She is an advocate for just causes; she reminds us to always be mindful of those whose ideas are different from ours, and to respect others and their cultures.”