You’ll recall that, owing to the efforts of one or two faculty (especially Rebel Girl), MacArthur award winner Rueben Martinez was selected as Irvine Valley College’s 2008 commencement speaker. His address was well received.
Today, we learn that Martinez has become a presidential fellow at Chapman U. Starting next month, he’ll be responsible for recruitment of “first-generation” Latino students:Chapman University selects MacArthur award winner Rueben Martinez to recruit first-generation college students, especially Latinos.
...University administrators said the fellowship is part of a twofold strategy of boosting its science enrollment while more aggressively recruiting students from such central Orange County communities as Santa Ana, Anaheim and Orange -- where the 6,000-student campus is located.
Martinez said that during his visits to high schools, he likes to conduct one-on-one interviews with rapid-fire questions to find out about students' interests and determine how serious they are about pursuing their education.
"What I tell these kids today is that a college degree can be a reality," he said. "I tell them: 'If you don't like high school you're going to dig college, man.' "
After cutting hair for decades, Martinez began selling books out of his barbershop in 1993, and he later moved into a storefront on downtown Santa Ana's Main Street. His shop, Libreria Martinez, has become a pillar of the Latino literary community.
Martinez was thrust into the national spotlight in 2004 when the MacArthur Foundation awarded him a $500,000 fellowship for promoting literacy. The unrestricted money, spread out over five years, has gone to start a nonprofit group that offers after-school classes and tutoring as well as paying some of his bookstore's bills….
