Melissa A. Martinez, PhD

Interim Associate Dean of The Graduate College
Professor of Educational & Community Leadership Program
Department of Counseling, Leadership, Adult Education, and School Psychology
Texas State University

Dr. Melissa A. Martinez is Interim Associate Dean of The Graduate College and Professor of Educational and Community Leadership at Texas State University. Her research examines college access and readiness for underserved and marginalized student communities, educational leadership preparation and Latinx leadership/leaders, and the experiences of faculty of color in academia. Dr. Martinez is co-editor of Transformative praxis through doctoral educational leadership programs: A blueprint for fostering resilient, future-ready leaders (2026), Latinas Leading Schools (2021) and Latino educational leadership: Serving Latino communities and preparing Latinx leaders across the P-20 pipeline (2018). She has over 100 articles, book chapters, conference papers and presentations to her name and has been recognized by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools for her outstanding mentorship of students and faculty. Dr. Martinez has chaired 35 doctoral dissertations and been a committee member of 77 dissertations. Dr. Martinez is active in the American Educational Research Association, University Council for Educational Administration, and serves as a board member of several reputable journals in her field.