James Martin

James Martin holds the Zarrow Endowed Chair in Special Education and is Director of the University of Oklahoma's Zarrow Center. Dr. Martin earned his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois in 1983 with a focus upon transition. He taught for two years at Eastern Illinois University. He then moved west and became a professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for 16 years. While at Colorado he served as the Special Education Program Coordinator for 10 years and was Director of the Center for Self-Determination. Professor Martin has authored several books, a couple dozen chapters for edited books, numerous journal articles, and several curriculum lesson packages, which include video and multi-media applications. Federal, state, and local funding agencies provided him more than $7,000,000 to conduct his research and writing activities. He has conducted presentations and training workshops at sites across the US, Canada, and in Europe. His professional interests focus upon the transition of youth with disabilities from high school into postsecondary education and the workforce, and what must be done to facilitate success in high school and postsecondary environments. In particular, Dr. Martin is interested in the application of self-determination methodology to educational and workplace settings.