Carolyn Martin
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Arthur “Biddy” Martin (born 1951) is an American intellectual, author, and former Chancellor
of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. She assumed office on September 1, 2008, succeeding John D. Wiley
. She was the ninth graduate of UW–Madison to serve as its chancellor, and the first alumna to hold that position. She was the university's second female chancellor, after Donna Shalala
, and also the university's first openly gay chancellor.
Before becoming chancellor, she was Provost
of Cornell University
in Ithaca
, New York
from July 1, 2000 until August 31, 2008. As provost, Martin served as chief academic officer and chief operating officer, providing leadership for deans of Cornell’s 14 colleges and schools, as well as a number of centers and faculty advisory councils. She helped manage the institution’s academic programs, executive budgets, capital budgets and operating plans. Martin worked on Cornell's academic faculty for 15 years prior to her appointment as provost.
On June 14, 2011, Martin was chosen as the 19th President of Amherst College
, succeeding Anthony Marx
.
, just outside of Lynchburg
. The women in her family shared the name Carolyn, earning nicknames "Buck" (grandmother), "Boolie" (mother), and "Biddy" for Martin. She graduated from Brookville High School
in 1969, where she was valedictorian and set the school scoring record for girls' basketball. She received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary in 1973, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She earned an M.A. in German Literature from Middlebury College
’s program in Mainz, Germany and received her Ph.D.
in German Literature in 1983 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
(Summa Cum Laude), and joined the faculty at Cornell the same year.
In 1991, she was promoted to associate professor
in the Department of German Studies
with a joint appointment in the Women’s Studies Program. She served as chair of the Department of German Studies from 1994–97, and in 1997 was promoted to full Professor. In 1996, she was appointed Senior Associate Dean
in the College of Arts and Sciences
, a position she held until 2000. Between 2000 and 2008, she assumed the role as Cornell's Provost
. She has been Chancellor of UW-Madison since 2008.
Martin is the author of numerous articles and two books—one on a literary and cultural figure in the Freud circle, Lou Andreas-Salomé
, and the other on gender theory.
, by Michael Pollan
. For Fall 2010, the announced selection was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
.
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. She assumed office on September 1, 2008, succeeding John D. Wiley
John D. Wiley
John Duncan Wiley is a faculty member and former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Wiley was named the 28th Chancellor of the University on November 10, 2000, and assumed office on January 1, 2001. He stepped down as chancellor and returned to the faculty on September 1, 2008...
. She was the ninth graduate of UW–Madison to serve as its chancellor, and the first alumna to hold that position. She was the university's second female chancellor, after Donna Shalala
Donna Shalala
Donna Edna Shalala served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and has been president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest...
, and also the university's first openly gay chancellor.
Before becoming chancellor, she was Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from July 1, 2000 until August 31, 2008. As provost, Martin served as chief academic officer and chief operating officer, providing leadership for deans of Cornell’s 14 colleges and schools, as well as a number of centers and faculty advisory councils. She helped manage the institution’s academic programs, executive budgets, capital budgets and operating plans. Martin worked on Cornell's academic faculty for 15 years prior to her appointment as provost.
On June 14, 2011, Martin was chosen as the 19th President of Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, succeeding Anthony Marx
Anthony Marx
Anthony W. Marx is the current president and CEO of the New York Public Library in July 2011, succeeding Paul LeClerc. Marx is the former president of Amherst College, in Amherst, Massachusetts....
.
Early life and career
Martin grew up in Timberlake, VirginiaTimberlake, Virginia
Timberlake is a census-designated place in Campbell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 10,683 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Timberlake is located at ....
, just outside of Lynchburg
Lynchburg
Lynchburg or Lynchburgh may refer to:*Lynchburg, California*Lynchburg, Mississippi*Lynchburg, Missouri*Lynchburg, Ohio*Lynchburg, South Carolina*Lynchburg, Tennessee*Lynchburg, Texas*Lynchburg, Virginia...
. The women in her family shared the name Carolyn, earning nicknames "Buck" (grandmother), "Boolie" (mother), and "Biddy" for Martin. She graduated from Brookville High School
Brookville High School
Brookville High School is part of Brookville Local Schools located in Brookville, Ohio, United States. The school's nickname is the Blue Devils...
in 1969, where she was valedictorian and set the school scoring record for girls' basketball. She received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary in 1973, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She earned an M.A. in German Literature from Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
’s program in Mainz, Germany and received her Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in German Literature in 1983 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
(Summa Cum Laude), and joined the faculty at Cornell the same year.
In 1991, she was promoted to associate professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in the Department of German Studies
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
with a joint appointment in the Women’s Studies Program. She served as chair of the Department of German Studies from 1994–97, and in 1997 was promoted to full Professor. In 1996, she was appointed Senior Associate Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
in the College of Arts and Sciences
Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is a division of Cornell University. It has been part of the university since its founding, although its name has changed over time. It grants bachelors degrees, and masters and doctorates through affiliation with the Cornell University Graduate School...
, a position she held until 2000. Between 2000 and 2008, she assumed the role as Cornell's Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
. She has been Chancellor of UW-Madison since 2008.
Martin is the author of numerous articles and two books—one on a literary and cultural figure in the Freud circle, Lou Andreas-Salomé
Lou Andreas-Salomé
Lou Andreas-Salomé was a Russian-born psychoanalyst and author. Her diverse intellectual interests led to friendships with a broad array of distinguished western luminaries, including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Rilke.- Early years :Lou Salomé was born in St...
, and the other on gender theory.
Cornell (2000-2008)
During her tenure as provost, Martin led a faculty salary-improvement program, oversaw Cornell's interdisciplinary Life Sciences Initiative, authorized a National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant proposal to enhance recruitment and retention of women in science and engineering and established and developed a budget for Cornell's Center for a Sustainable Future.Financial Aid Initiative
In 2008, Martin announced a financial aid initiative aimed at eliminating need-based loans for all undergraduate students from families with incomes under $75,000. The purpose of the initiative was to make it possible for new students to graduate debt-free.New Student Reading Project
Martin started a reading project for incoming students, recruiting more than 200 faculty volunteers to lead small-group discussions with new students. The project has become a collaborative activity with the city of Ithaca.Joan and Sanford Weill Life Sciences Building
Martin oversaw the $150 million creation of the Joan and Sanford Weill Life Sciences Building, a 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) building that serves as the university's hub for life sciences and interdisciplinary collaborations. It is home to the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.University of Wisconsin-Madison (2008-2011)
As chancellor, Martin led successful initiatives to increase need-based financial aid, improve undergraduate education, and enhance research administration. The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates promoted student advising, innovations in undergraduate programs, and faculty diversity. Martin also spearheaded an effort to gain greater operating flexibility and increased autonomy for Wisconsin’s flagship campus. Martin advocated for diversity during her tenure. At the 2008 Diversity Forum, she closed the event stating, “We are a plural people whose joint efforts are required to address the world’s problems... Interactions are key to realizing our full potential as human beings and groups.”Madison Initiative for Undergraduates
Martin's first major policy initiative as Chancellor was the implementation of an incremental four-year tuition increase plan called the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. This plan pays for more undergraduate course offerings, additional faculty and staff to teach those courses, enhanced student services, and supplemental (and eventually complete) financial assistance for students whose families make under $80,000 a year. The plan was approved by the Board of Regents on May 8, 2009.Go Big Read!
Martin has also created the university's first Common Read program, known as Go Big Read!, which began in Fall 2009. The inaugural selected title was In Defense of Food: An Eater's ManifestoIn Defense of Food
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto is a 2008 book by journalist and activist Michael Pollan. It was number one on the New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller List for six weeks. The book grew out of Pollan's 2007 essay Unhappy Meals published in the New York Times Magazine...
, by Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. A 2006 New York Times book review describes him as a "liberal foodie intellectual."...
. For Fall 2010, the announced selection was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a non-fiction book by American author Rebecca Skloot. It is about Henrietta Lacks and the immortal cell line, known as HeLa, that came from her cervical cancer cells in 1951. The book is notable for its accessible science writing and dealing with ethical...
by Rebecca Skloot
Rebecca Skloot
Rebecca L. Skloot is a freelance science writer who specializes in science and medicine. Her first book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , was one of the best-selling new books of the year, staying on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 32 weeks and optioned to be made into a movie by...
.
Graduate reform
In mid-2009, Martin and Provost Paul DeLuca announced plans for a reorganization of the university's graduate and research initiatives. Their proposal called for separation of the roles of Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, which are currently held by the same person. This proposal came in the wake of several compliance violations that placed the university at risk for losing critical research funding and accreditation. This proposal faced resistance from faculty who believed that these violations were confined to only a few units and that the proposed restructuring would be too costly and unneccsary for preventing future violations. On May 3, 2010, Faculty Senate leadership approved a compromise plan which kept the Graduate and Research missions of the University unified in one leadership position under the new working title of Vice Chancellor for Research.New Badger Partnership
In 2010, Martin initiated a series of public fora concerning what she describes as a "new business model for UW-Madison." This proposal, called the "New Badger Partnership," intends to safeguard the university finance and help mend the state's fiscal gaps. As part of this proposal, Martin called for "greater flexibility for the university, combined with reasonable forms of accountability and more effective operations" which "can strengthen the university's position and its ability to serve the state." Among its early stated aims were the ability to set market-based tuition, provide more financial aid and compensate faculty separately from pay plans for other state agencies. These talks provided the basis for Martin's agreement with Gov. Scott Walker in March 2011 to separate UW-Madison from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System, and give it the status of a public authority reporting to its own Board of Trustees, a distinction already held by the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Due to staunch opposition from the University of Wisconsin Regents, who claimed that they were not properly appraised of any negotiations between Martin and Walker, and the Chancellors of other UW System schools, who felt that the departure of UW-Madison from the system would diminish and permanently damage the System, the public authority proposal generated little support in the State Assembly, even as it had the vocal support of many UW-Madison administrators and alumni. Moreover, the political atmosphere surrounding the debate over UW-Madison had been severely strained by Gov. Walker's controversial decision to strip public employees unions of collective bargaining rights, thus providing very little political room for a change of this scale. Ultimately, the Assembly agreed to a series of fiscal and administrative reforms that would apply to the entire UW System, which Martin had described as "a promising first step".Books
- Woman and Modernity: The (Life)Styles of Lou Andreas-Salomé, Cornell University Press, 1991.
- Femininity Played Straight: The Significance of Being Lesbian, Routledge Press, 1996.
Other
- "Sexualities without Genders and Other Queer Utopias", Diacritics, vol. 24, no. 2/3, Critical Crossings (Summer - Autumn, 1994), pp. 104–121.