At Eastern Kentucky University I serve in dual roles as the Director of the Kentucky Center for Veterans Studies (KCVS) and as the First-Year Courses Administrator (FYC). My primary responsibilities include designing curricula, supporting retention, tracking academic success, training faculty, and establishing relationships between academic units and community partners.
KCVS emerged from the program in Veterans Studies I designed in 2010—the nation’s first. We provide students moving into careers serving veterans with an enriching academic experience coupled with service learning and professionalization. KCVS offers an interdisciplinary Veterans Studies Minor and University-level Certificate. Students contribute to an impressive oral history collection housed in the William H. Berge Center, and they have access to a mentorship program, internship opportunities, and a student organization—the Veterans Studies Alliance. We focus heavily on service learning.
As First-Year Courses Administrator, I support the retention and academic success of first-year college students. I design first-year seminars for in-person, online, and hybrid environments, supporting the needs of faculty in 120+ courses housed in seven different colleges or academic units. We track the cognitive and non-cognitive growth of thousands of first-year students, and through classroom instruction, extracurricular programming, and advising the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, I try to provide each student with community and support as they adapt to college life.
My research interests are rooted in literary theory, social theory, and psychoanalytic trauma theory. I am particularly interested in the real impact of representations of veterans in literature, film, and the mainstream media. From 2011-2015, I founded and led Military Experience and the Arts, a non-profit which has held two national symposia and published hundreds of veterans’ creative works. During this time, I was also a VFW Service Officer, an Interviewer for the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, and a “Project America” Workshop Leader for the ArtReach Foundation. I deployed twice to Iraq with the US Army in 2003 and 2005.
University Service
2022-Present. Member. First Year Innovation & Transformation Think Tank. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Mentor. EngaGE Redesign Program. General Education. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Co-Director. Ungrading Pilot. General Education. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Member. Staff Council. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Faculty Innovator-in-Residence. FCTL. Eastern Kentucky U.
2020-Present. Title IX Advisor. Eastern Kentucky U.
2020-Present. Chapter Advisor. Veterans Studies Alliance. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Co-Director. “Why Are We Here?” Event. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019-Present. Member. University Equity Complaint Council. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019-20. Chapter Co-Advisor. EKU VETS Club. Eastern Kentucky U.
2020. Coordinator. Student-Centered Remote Learning Mini-Series. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019. Volunteer. Staff Council. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019. Volunteer. “Words and Images of Post-Traumatic Resilience.” Eastern Kentucky
2019. Scholarship Judge. “Kentucky All ‘A’ Classic.” Eastern Kentucky U.
2019. Coordinator. “Saturday Socials for First-Year Students.” Eastern Kentucky U.
2019. Coordinator. “Colonels Create.” Eastern Kentucky U.
2018-Present. Chapter Advisor. Alpha Lambda Delta. Eastern Kentucky U.
2013. Volunteer Coordinator. Vet-2-Vet Sponsorship Program. Eastern Kentucky U.
2013. Co-Leader. ArtReach: Project America Workshop. Eastern Kentucky U.
2012. Director. Veterans Studies Undergraduate Research Symposium. Eastern Kentucky U.
2012. Director. Military Experience and the Arts Symposium. Eastern Kentucky U.
2012. Coordinator. Combat Paper Project. Eastern Kentucky U.
2011-12. Interviewer. Louis B. Nunn Center for Oral History. U of Kentucky.
2011. Reader. “Here, Bullet.” Remembrance Day Roll Call. Eastern Kentucky U.
2011. Mentor. Tenth Annual Undergraduate Presentation Showcase. Eastern Kentucky U.
2010-11. Vice President. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Eastern Kentucky U.
2010-11. Counselor / Mentor. “Planning to Win” Summer Camp. Eastern Kentucky U.
2009-11. Founder & President. EKU VETS. Eastern Kentucky U.
University Committees
2021-Present. Member. Staff Council Elections and Credentials. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Member. Interdisciplinary Certificate Advisory Board. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Member. Psychology Department Student Engagement. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Member. Psychology Department Awards. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Member. Academic Planning and Assessment. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021-Present. Chair. Staff Council Policy. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019-Present. Co-Chair. First-Year Courses Curriculum. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019-Present. Chair. Veterans Studies Advisory Board. Eastern Kentucky U.
2022. Member. University Faculty Awards Event Planning. Eastern Kentucky U.
2022. Member. Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Award Selection. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Member. Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Students. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Member. ENGAGE Program Steering. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Member. ENGAGE Curriculum. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Member. Diversity and Inclusion Curriculum. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Member. BSW/MSW Tenure Track Hiring. Eastern Kentucky U.
2021. Member. Addressing Perceptions & Stigmas in Gen Ed. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019. Member. Success First Learning Contract. Eastern Kentucky U.
2019. Director. First-Year Courses Instructor Awards. Eastern Kentucky U.
2013. Member. Pat Tillman Military Scholars Selection. Eastern Kentucky U.
2013. Director. University Programs Symposium Planning. Eastern Kentucky U.
2012. Member. Pat Tillman Military Scholars Selection. Eastern Kentucky U.
2012. Member. English Graduate Student Conference Planning. U of Kentucky.
2011-12. Vice President. English Graduate Student Organization. U of Kentucky.
2010-11. Chair. Veterans Studies Exploratory Committee. Eastern Kentucky U.
2010-11. Alternate Representative. ADA Committee. Eastern Kentucky U.
2009. Vice-Chair. Non-Traditional Student Council. Eastern Kentucky U.
External Service
2022. Manuscript Review. When Warriors Write for Children. U Press of Kentucky
2020. Reviewer. The Journal of Veterans Studies. Veterans Studies Association.
2020. Reviewer. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. U of North Georgia.
2020. Manuscript Review. Connections: College and Career Success. MacMillan.
2019. Manuscript Review. An Eagle on My Arm. U Press of Kentucky.
2019. Coordinator. “National Salute Week Student Visit.” Lexington, KY VA Hospital.
2015. Events Coordinator. Military Experience & the Arts Symposium. Cameron U.
2013. Senior Project Mentor. Model High School. Richmond, KY.
2013. Reviewer. Kentucky Philological Review. Northern Kentucky University.
2013. Reviewer. disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory.University of Kentucky.
2012. Session Chair. “Technology and Trauma in Modern War Writing.” Midwest MLA.
2012. Session Chair. “No Man Left Behind.” Northeast MLA.
2011. Volunteer. AFTEC: Horses for Heroes Equestrian Therapy.
2010-13. Post Service Officer. Madison Co. KY Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
External Committees
2021-Present. Member. Military & Veteran Policy Workgroup. Kentucky Center for Statistics.
2020-Present. Member. Client Community Stakeholder Board. Lexington VET Center.
2019-22. Member. Marketing & Communications. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2019-22. Member. Expansion. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2019-22. Member. Chapter Relations. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2022. Chair. Trow Scholarship Selection. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2022. Chair. Long Range Planning. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2022. Chair. Fellowship Selection. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2021. Member. Nominations & By-laws. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2021. Member. Fellowship Selection. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2019-21. Member. Long Range Planning. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2019. Member. Stemler Scholarship. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2019. Member. Order of the Torch. Alpha Lambda Delta.
2011. Member. National Conference Planning. ANTSHE.
Travis L. Martin, PhD, is founding director of the Kentucky Center for Veterans Studies at Eastern Kentucky University. He has established several nationally recognized programs to support returning veterans in higher education and the non-profit sector. A scholar of American literature, psychoanalytic trauma theory, and social theory, Dr. Martin presents frequently at conferences and universities. He has published dozens of research articles and creative short works on veterans’ issues. A former sergeant in the U.S. Army, he served during two deployments in the Iraq War (2003-04 & 2005). His book War and Homecoming: Veteran Identity and the Post-9/11 Generation was published with the University Press of Kentucky in 2022. He resides in Richmond, KY.
Travis L. Martin 