Martha Marks Named this Year's Unsung Hero for the University

Congratulations are in order for the Institute’s own Martha Marks, winner of the 2008 Robert R. Cornwell Unsung Hero Award in recognition of her long-term contributions to the University.

Martha has served the University community for 20 years, 15 of which have been at the Institute for the Arts and Humanities as the program coordinator for the Faculty Fellows Program.

Those who know Martha will agree with IAH Associate Director Julia T. Wood that “Martha truly is the heart of the Faculty Fellows Program.”

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment sponsors the award, now in its thirteenth year, in recognition of former Associate University Registrar and Research Associate Robert Cornwell. Winners must be nominated for consideration and exemplify qualities such as pride in a job well done and a consistent work ethic. A panel of faculty and staff chooses the winner each year.

Martha received the award March 19, 2009, in a ceremony to which she invited family and close friends from the University. Representatives from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment and from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities paid tribute to Martha’s service. IAH Director John McGowan lauded Martha’s ability to make the Faculty Fellows Program run seamlessly.

“The highest compliment I can pay Martha is that I don’t spend a minute worrying about the Faculty Fellows program; it works like clockwork,” McGowan explained.

Senior Associate Dean Bill Andrews led those in attendance in a heartfelt rendition of "O Mary, Don’t You Weep" in honor of Martha’s unique ability to “take care of both the head and the stomach” of the Fellows that enter the program.

Martha’s ability to personalize the process of the program so that each applicant feels invested in his or her fellowship semester has helped grow the program to the success that it is today.  Martha meets individually with each applicant to provide insight and guidance, reads each application with meticulous attention to detail, and walks the process of entering the program along side the selected Fellows.

Once the fellowship semester begins, Martha coordinates all the details for each weekly session while serving as a liaison between the IAH and the more than 400 Faculty Fellows who have completed the program. She is also largely responsible for communications about the Faculty Fellows Program through providing accurate information to various university publications, departments within the College of Arts and Sciences and interested faculty members.

Despite her many responsibilities and hectic schedule, Martha has become known for her patience, professionalism and reliability. Wood, associate director of the Faculty Fellows Program, has worked closely with Martha for seven years and remarked that she has “never seen anyone who cheers so readily for others.”

Martha continues to raise the bar of excellence for faculty programming at the IAH and is a much-valued member of the Institute team.

Martha credits the community dynamic within the leadership and staff of the Institute with much of her own success, recalling a Zambian proverb, “One finger cannot easily pluck a piece of fruit; it takes a hand.”