President's Biography

Dr. Daniel J. Martin was elected Mount Vernon Nazarene University's sixth president on November 2, 2006, and officially assumed office on February 1, 2007.

Dr. Martin graduated from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, OK, with a B.S. in Business Administration. Beyond academics, Dr. Martin enjoyed every aspect of campus life including serving as a student government leader, participating in a variety of service opportunities, and playing intercollegiate soccer.

Upon graduation, Dr. Martin completed his Juris Doctor (J.D.) at the University of Kansas, School of Law, and simultaneously completed a Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in the university's School of Business. Upon entering the field of higher education, Dr. Martin earned two additional degrees, an Ed.D. in Higher Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Kansas and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Martin's primary areas of research interest are leadership, organizational culture, and campus planning. All three areas formed the basis of his dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania where his research earned distinction honors. His study explored how an institution's culture was reflected in and through its campus planning, specifically noting a college or university campus is a physical artifact of its culture and indicator of organizational life. Martin contests that artifacts, as symbols, comprise both the physical setting of an organization and the objects that represent the meaning, experiences, and ideas that people have in and about the symbol in the context of the organization.

After a brief period in the corporate sector, Dr. Martin followed his passion and began serving in higher education. He has held a variety of roles and positions including, Executive Assistant to the President, Vice President for Enrollment Development, and Acting Vice President of Finance at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, KS. He was serving as the Vice President for University Advancement at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA, upon his election at Mount Vernon.

Dr. Martin's diverse educational background and professional experience has served him well in his leadership capacities. He has led multiple comprehensive development programs that have yielded nearly $80 million for the advancement and support of the educational enterprise through unrestricted, scholarship, capital, endowment, and planned gifts. As a result of his expertise in campus planning, he derives great satisfaction in the construction of capital projects that honor and reflect the organization's culture and history while serving to meet the demanding needs of educating students today. Additionally, Dr. Martin possesses a firm commitment in the benefits of strategic planning and has guided both process and implementation at three universities. His philosophy of planning seeks to strengthen the organization's essence, focus, and potential by aligning institutional resources with substantive action steps to successfully address changing realities in the external environment.

Martin's efforts have served to affirm the promise and potential of higher education and its ability to not only prepare students to make a living, but to challenge them to give of themselves and lead substantive efforts and the development of creative solutions to address real-world problems such as hunger, poverty, education, disaster relief, injustice, and others. Martin is committed to leading and shaping educational processes based on ideas and qualities such as ethics, integrity, the ability to think critically and analytically, and to communicate effectively. Martin continues to be an advocate for the liberal arts experience and its ability to provide the student a sense of wholeness, solidity, and focus in the midst of an ever-changing economic and social landscape. Further, he believes a liberal arts education is about depth and breadth and developing a historical perspective and the ability to attain a profound and comprehensive understanding of life rather than simply building personal capacity and capability.

Dr. Martin extends his leadership expertise through service on a variety of Boards including serving as a General Board member for the Church of the Nazarene, as a member of the Board for the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System, and as a member of the local Rotary Club and Board Member for the county's United Way.

Martin's wife, Pam, graduated from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She has taught in public schools and served in children's ministry. They have two sons, Jacob (15) and Joshua (13).

EDUCATION

• University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
  Ed.D., Higher Education Management
  
  
• University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
  Ed.D., Higher Education Policy and Leadership
  
  
• University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
  Masters of Business Administration
  
  
• University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
  J.D., Juris Doctor
  
  
• Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, OK
  B.S., Business Administration
  
  

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio
  Board of Trustees
  
  
• United Way of Knox County
  Board of Trustees
  
  
• Church of the Nazarene
  General Board Member,
  East Central Region
  
  
• Rotary International, Member
  
  

LICENSE

• Kansas Bar Association