FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 7, 2002
CONTACT: KAY HENDRICKS
COORDINATOR OF COMMUNICATION
210-208-8006

ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT NAMES DR. ERNEST A. MARTINEZ ACTING CHANCELLOR

Dr. Ernest A. Martinez has been named acting chancellor of the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) in San Antonio, Texas. Martinez is currently the executive vice chancellor of the district, a position he has held since 1995. The ACCD Board of Trustees named Martinez to his new post following the retirement of Chancellor Robert W. Ramsay.

As acting chancellor, Martinez will oversee the operation of the 45,000-student ACCD and be responsible for carrying out the policies of the district’s Board of Trustees. He will supervise the areas of internal audit, procurement and materiel management, institutional advancement, governmental and public relations, international programs, public funding administration, student and community program development, the agribusiness institute and workforce development, along with overseeing the district’s Center for Leadership in Science, Mathematics and Technology.

As executive vice chancellor, Martinez serves as chief operating officer of the ACCD and is the senior administrator responsible for day-to-day management of the district. He supports the chancellor and the Board of Trustees in the areas of strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, capital improvements, policy development, improvement of the delivery of services and initiatives enhancing academic programs and quality of life. He supervises the areas of human resources, information systems, fiscal affairs, public safety and facilities and student financial services. He also chairs the district’s Strategic Planning committee and chaired the Northeast Bexar County ACCD Campus/College Site Study committee.

ACCD Board Chair Dr. Gene Sprague expressed the board’s support for Martinez. "The Board has full confidence in Dr. Martinez’s ability to guide the district," said Sprague.

Martinez said that he will focus on keeping the district running smoothly. "Our emphasis will be on the basics," he said. "We will put the emphasis on whatever ensures student success."

Martinez has previously served the district in a dual role. In July 1996, Ramsay named Martinez interim president of Palo Alto College. He served as the college’s interim president and as executive vice chancellor until a new president was selected for the college in March 1998.

Martinez came to the ACCD with 30 years experience as an educator and administrator. Before joining the district, he served as deputy to the chancellor for community colleges, central administration for the State University of New York (SUNY). In this capacity, he served as the principal liaison between the SUNY system and its 30 community colleges, working with the community college presidents on budgetary, legislative and other matters. He also served as the liaison with local boards of trustees and provided leadership in areas such as academic programs, planning, finance and business, capital facilities, governmental relations and economic development.

Prior to his position with SUNY, Martinez was president-superintendent of the Cerritos Community College District in Norwalk, California, for seven years. There he led a 22,000-student college, was responsible for a $45 million budget and reported directly to the board. He has also served as president of Seattle Central Community College in Washington state and has worked in administrative capacities at Cabrillo Community College in Aptos, California, and Santa Rosa Junior College in California.

Martinez spent the beginning of his career as a teacher, rising from teaching junior high school English, English as a Second Language, reading, biology and Spanish, to becoming a professor of bilingual education and Chicano studies at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California.

A native of New Mexico, Martinez earned his bachelor’s in English and biology from New Mexico Highlands University, his master’s in reading from Sonoma State Univer-sity and his doctorate in folklore, children’s literature and curriculum and instruction from the University of California at Berkeley.

Martinez is a member of the Westside Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Association and the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education. He has served on the board of the South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, was a founding member of the National Community College Hispanic Council, affiliated with the American Association of Community Colleges, and has been a member of the Hispanic Professional Association, Rotary International and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

He and his wife, Mary Ann, are the parents of two sons and two daughters and proud grandparents of nine grandchildren.