John Martinez, Ph.D., professor of economics in Midwestern State University’s Dillard College of Business Administration, is the recipient of the 2023 Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Teaching Award. The award was presented Monday, Feb. 13, by Texas Tech University System Chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D., and MSU Texas Interim President Keith Lamb.

The teaching award is one of two awards presented annually at each TTU System component institution through the Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Teaching and Research Awards (CCDTRA) that recognize academic excellence across the Texas Tech University System.

Martinez earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas and a master's degree and doctorate in economics from the University of Oklahoma. Martinez was hired as an MSU Texas professor of economics in 1997. In 2006, Martinez was honored by MSU Texas for teaching excellence and service to the university. In 2012, Martinez was named Hardin Professor, which is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at the university each year.

“I am deeply honored to be receiving this award from Texas Tech,” Martinez said. “I am truly grateful to the MSU administration for all their support. In particular, I want to thank my dean, Dr. Jeff Stambaugh, and my chair, Dr. Robert Forrester, for all the generous support they have personally provided over the years.”

MSU Texas Interim President Keith Lamb is proud of the 2023 CCDTRA winners. “Dr. Martinez, recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award, has a long history of mentoring students and caring for their success. This interest in our students and their experience comes through in his teaching, for which he is being recognized. Dr. Martinez is a passionate advocate for international education, opening the world to our students,” Lamb said.

During his tenure at MSU, Martinez has also taught numerous economics courses (11 different preps altogether) from History of Economic Thought to Econometrics. At MSU Texas, he served many years as the full-time director of Bureau of Business and Government Research (BBGR). In that capacity, he has conducted numerous impact studies that have had important applications for local economic development. In addition to writing for refereed journals, he has contributed numerous op-ed pieces on various local and national economic issues for the Times Record News (TRN) of Wichita Falls. In the past three years alone, he has written more than 10 front-page stories for TRN.

 “I am indebted to the faculty of MSU for their vote of confidence,” Martinez said. “I am deeply humbled because there are so many other deserving MSU colleagues. Within the Dillard College of Business Administration alone, I know of at least a half dozen of my colleagues that are just as deserving of this award.”