Faculty Mentors

Charles Martinez, PhD

Dean, College of Education; Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
University of Texas at Austin

Charles R. Martinez, Jr. is the 12th dean of the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Martinez was named dean-designate in July 2018 and began his tenure as dean on January 1, 2019. Martinez holds the Lee Hage Jamail Regents Chair in Education and the Sid W. Richardson Regents Chair. He is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. A first-generation college graduate, Martinez received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pitzer College, and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Martinez’’s scholarly work focuses on identifying factors that hinder or promote the success of children and families from vulnerable and underserved populations. As a prevention scientist specializing in minority education and health disparities, he is committed to translational research—research that moves evidence-based practices developed in laboratories and clinical settings into communities that often have limited access to such practices, while attending to the potential need for adaptation of such practices to ensure their cultural responsiveness. He is particularly interested in how immigrant Latino families adjust to life in the U.S. and how to better harness culturally specific protective factors to ensure their success in navigating the many challenges associated with immigration. Martinez has led numerous national and international research projects designed to examine risk and protective factors involved in linking social and cultural factors to education and behavioral health disparities for Latino children and families and to develop and test culturally specific interventions for at-risk families in the U.S. and in Latin America. His work has garnered federal and international grants totaling more than $35 million. Agencies funding his research include the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Selected Publications:

Martinez Jr, C. R., Eddy, J. M., McClure, H. H., & Cobb, C. L. (2021). Promoting Strong Latino Families Within an Emerging Immigration Context: Results of a Replication and Extension Trial of a Culturally Adapted Preventive Intervention. Prevention Science, 1-12.

Schwartz SJ, Martinez CR Jr, Meca A, Szabó Á, Ward C, Cobb CL, Cano MÁ, Unger JB, Salas-Wright CP. Toward a micro-level perspective on acculturation among U.S. Hispanic college students: A daily diary study. J Clin Psychol2020 Jul 6;doi: 10.1002/jclp.23009. PubMed PMID: 32632991.

Cobb CL, Schwartz SJ, Salas-Wright CP, Pinedo M, Martinez P, Meca A, Isaza AG, Lorenzo-Blanco EI, McClure H, Marsiglia FF, Martínez CR, Cano MÁ. Alcohol use severity, depressive symptoms, and optimism among Hispanics: Examining the immigrant paradox in a serial mediation model. J Clin Psychol2020 Jun 27;doi: 10.1002/jclp.23014. PubMed PMID: 32592612.