Dr. Charles Martinez, Jr.

Charles Martinez has led the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity since 2005, serving the first year of his appointment in an interim position. Dr. Martinez has also served as a faculty member in the College of Education since 1998, most recently in the role of Associate Professor/Senior Research Associate in Educational Leadership. As the chief diversity officer for the institution, Dr. Martinez provides central leadership for campus-wide diversity efforts; leads development and implementation of the University Diversity Plan; oversees activities of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED), Office of Multicultural Academic Support (OMAS), Many Nations Longhouse, and the Center on Diversity and Community (CoDaC); represents the University and its diversity programs to external audiences; supports diversity-building programs across campus; and works with the central administration to prioritize initiatives that serve the diversity goals and education mission of the institution.

A noted scholar in the area of minority health disparities and cross-cultural prevention research, Dr. Martinez also works as research scientist at the non-profit Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene, where he directs the OSLC Latino Research Team. His research projects focus on examining risk and protective factors involved in linking acculturation to behavioral health outcomes for Latino families and developing and testing culturally specific interventions for Latino families with youngsters at risk of behavioral health problems. Dr. Martinez has served on the Oregon Governor’s Ethnic and Racial Task Force, the Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, and is a publicly elected member of the Eugene District 4J School Board.

Dr. Martinez grew up in Southern California, about 150 miles from where his grandparents settled after their families emigrated from Mexico. He was a first-generation college student who graduated with honors from Pitzer College in 1991 with a degree in psychology. He completed his masters and doctoral studies in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology before coming to Eugene to complete a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship in 1997.

Council and Committee Responsibilities

President’s Small Executive Staff (PSES) President’s Council on Race (PCR)
Leadership Council
Vice Provost’s Council
Affirmative Action Administrative Council (AAAC)
Latino Issues Team
BAD (Baseline Assessment Data)
Human Resource Subcommittee
COE Diversity Steering Committee
President’s Native American Advisory Board
Provost’s Advisory Council on Academic Excellence (Ex-officio)
National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education Board
Enrollment Management Council Executive Committee
Diversity Building Scholarships (DBS) Executive Committee
National Hispanic Science Network
Diversity and Human Rights Consortium
Bias Response Team Committee
EJPR Committee