Education

2018 University of Florida, B.A. in Political Science
2020 University of Florida, M.S. in Agricultural Education and Communication
2026 University of South Florida, Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Higher Education Administration

Career Specialties

Through his work at the UTampa, Nick Martinez oversees multiple leadership programs, such as the President’s Leadership Fellows and Discover UTampa, that seek to enrich UTampa students in the Spartan Ready® competencies. Additionally, Martinez is assisting in the development of a leadership framework for use across programs, departments and colleges. This framework will not only inform how staff and faculty build programs, model their classrooms and promote experiential learning, but how students perceive leadership on and off campus, and in their lives. As students participate in programs enriched in this leadership framework, they will be able to identify the growth of their leadership understanding and capacity and can leave UTampa as stewards of creating positive social change in our world.

Professional and Community Activities

Martinez has a background in studying the development of leadership education programs at institutions of higher education, at all levels: majors, minors and co-curricular programs. His research is primarily focused in two areas: a) understanding and measuring student growth through leadership development, first year experience programs and other co-curricular programs, and b) the development of qualitative assessment tools and frameworks that can be used to assess programs across higher education. Currently, Martinez and his colleagues are developing a framework for a peer-mentor leadership model that focuses on allowing students to build strong, healthy and sustainable peer relationships, all while building the students’ leadership capacity. This research is focused on building a framework that can be modeled and used across higher education in a variety of programs, departments and institutions. He is currently a doctoral student at the University of South Florida (Curriculum and Instruction), with a concentration in higher education administration. Through his doctoral program, he has begun to explore the development of qualitative research frameworks and how institutions of higher education can use these methodologies to assess their programs.

Honors and Awards

Elevation in Practice – Impact Award, Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisor, 2024 – 2025
Outstanding Research Paper Award, Association of Leadership Educators, July 2020
Emerging Leader award, Association of Leadership Educators, July 2018
Top 3 Innovative Practice Papers, Association of Leadership Educators, July 2018