Airín Martínez Receives Outstanding Teacher Award for 2024-25
The award is given for demonstrating excellence and creativity in teaching, and making a positive impact on students.
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The UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) has announced that Airín Martínez, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, is the winner of the school’s 2024-2025 College Outstanding Teacher Award (COTA).
The award is given annually to one SPHHS faculty member who demonstrates excellence and creativity in teaching, a positive impact on their students and a mastery of their subject. The College Outstanding Teaching Award program is co-administered by the UMass Amherst Center for Teaching and Learning.
One nominator writes that “Professor Martínez’s enthusiastic energy, engaging assignments, and support has greatly inspired me to continue to learn about the current and past public health policies.” Another expresses that her “…supportive guidance and commitment to creating an inclusive environment have created a long-lasting impact toward my academic growth.”
“I am deeply grateful to the students who nominated me for this award,” says Martínez. “My undergraduate professors at Barry University introduced me to transformative teaching and helped me understand that the inequality that I experienced was real and could be resolved. They inspired me to become a professor. Now, my students continue to inspire me with their ideas, dreams and challenges.”
During the 2024-25 academic year, Martínez taught PUBHLTH 129: Health Care for All and PUBHLTH 482: Race, Public Health and Policy. She also supervised two independent studies and mentored both undergraduate and graduate students through various research and professional development projects.
“Every time a student starts the semester, they have about a week to decide whether they should drop a class from their schedule,” says Martínez.” With so many exciting courses across campus, I always feel relieved when my classes are at full capacity by the end of the second week. It is my hope that when my students complete one of my classes or research experiences, that they learn something meaningful about themselves—something that makes them feel proud of the work they will go on to do in public health.”
She notes that her teaching philosophy centers on creating a co-learning environment where students engage critically with course content, each other, and herself.
“I draw on the work of bell hooks and Paulo Freire to reject passive knowledge transmission and instead encourage reflexive and transformative learning,” says Martínez. “I want my students to leave my classes not only understanding the existence of health inequities but also grasping the historical, political, and institutional forces that shape them. I want them to imagine and work toward more equitable systems, and to recognize the value of community-based knowledge and collaborative solutions. Above all, I hope they learn to think critically, act ethically, and believe in the possibility of change.”