HL 049: Travis Martin Behind the Desk of Student Affairs

As a new academic year begins, HBCU students across the country are looking forward to returning to their respective campuses. Regardless of their student organizations, these students are surely looking forward to seeing old friends and making new friends at events. While life inside of the classroom is the focus of college life, student organizations create well-rounded students. That is where leaders like Travis Martin come in.

Travis is the director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Northwestern University. There, he oversees 46 fraternities and sororities including five National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities. Travis joined the HBCU Lifestyle Podcast to discuss his role as a student life administrator. He talked about his path from student leadership in college to his current responsibilities at one of the country’s most respected universities.

Raised in Clarksdale, Miss., Travis attended Mississippi Valley State where he was a student athlete and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. Fascinated by student affairs, he went on to earn his M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Arkansas and is pursuing his Ph.D. in College Student Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Georgia. Travis’s path started as an admissions counselor at Valley, took him to a graduate resident director at Arkansas to residence hall director at Georgia to senior coordinator/advisor of Greek Life at Georgia to Northwestern.

Travis also contributed to the forthcoming book “Models of Success: How Historically Black Colleges and Universities Survive the Economic Recession” which was co-edited by Dr. Shametrice Davis and Dr. Walter Kimbrough who appeared on episodes 40 and 44 of the podcast.

Follow Travis on Twitter.