Chris Martin, assistant clinical professor in the College of Nursing (AUCON), was one of five scholars nationwide to be selected by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation as a 2024 Macy Faculty Scholar. The Macy Faculty Scholars Program is designed to identify and nurture the careers of promising educators in medicine and nursing.
The scholars represent a dedicated group committed to leading in health professions education. Throughout the two-year program, each Scholar will receive mentorship, training, and the support of a broad network of current and alumni Scholars while pursuing a mentored educational project at their home institution. Their projects deal with important themes spanning health equity and justice, climate change and health, health professions curricula, and more.
For his Macy Faculty Scholars project — Active Community Engagement for Teaching Equity and Collaboration in Healthcare (ACE-TEACH) — Martin will develop a blueprint for the use of community engagement as a teaching strategy for advancing equity, diversity, and belonging, enhancing interprofessional education, and exposing underrepresented groups to the field of nursing as a viable career option. Linda Gibson-Young, professor and Outreach coordinator at AUCON, will serve as Martin’s mentor.
Martin’s career focuses on developing professionalism in undergraduate nursing students while promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. As chair of the AUCON’s diversity and inclusion committee, he oversaw the inaugural AUCON Diversity Day. He also represents AUCON at the Auburn University Senate and the Diversity Leaders’ Roundtable.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Chris Martin to the 2024 class of Macy Faculty Scholars,” said Dr. Holly J. Humphrey, President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. “As the first Scholar from Auburn University and the first Scholar to also serve as a member of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Reserves, Dr. Martin will have a unique perspective to share with our community of Scholars. We are looking forward to learning from him and alongside him as he investigates the use of community engagement as a teaching strategy for advancing equity, diversity, and belonging.”
“The 2024 class of Macy Faculty Scholars are exemplary, dynamic educators with a demonstrated commitment to making a positive difference on health professions education and in the lives of their learners. We are excited by the new perspectives and ideas that the 2024 cohort will bring to the Macy Faculty Scholars family. Their scholarly work reflects some of the most timely issues in health professions education today, and their excitement for their work is palpable. The incoming Scholars each voiced a clear passion for supporting their learners—all with the goal of translating improvements in education to improved health and health outcomes for patients, families, and communities across the country.”
“Congratulations to Dr. Chris Martin! We have the first Macy’s Faculty Scholar in Auburn,” said Caralise Hunt, associate dean for academic affairs at AUCON. "We look forward to seeing your project put into action, Chris. Thank you Dr. Gibson-Young for serving as his mentor for the project.”
The Faculty Scholars receive salary support up to $100,000 per year over two years to implement an educational scholarly project in their institution and participate in a program of career development activities. Scholars become part of a network of peers, and mentors, and receive mentoring and career advice from the Foundation’s National Advisory Committee and program alums.
The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of the public by advancing the education and training of health professionals and to prepare future health professionals to meet the needs of the 21st century with a population that is the most diverse in U.S. history and may live longer than any previous generation. According to the organization, their focus is on the learning environments where future health professionals train so that they learn not only prevention and the social determinants of health but are well prepared to care for people when they are ill. This means learning the scientific basis of disease and taking advantage of the discoveries and breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment so that they make wise choices while providing compassionate care.
