By NICK BUDD
Hays Post
She already has the terminology down, referring to her new city as “Hays, America.” In fact, the first time FHSU president-elect Mirta Martin visited the metropolis, she got lost, which may have sold the job to her.
“I would say to someone ‘I’m looking for …’ and they would say ‘Let me take you there,’ ” she said. “To me, that speaks volumes about the town’s culture, and that’s one of the reasons that this seemed like a match for me.
“After spending the time on campus, my husband and I both knew that this was a place that we could call home,” she added, “because we felt like part of the community, and we were touched by the people we met.”
The presidential profile also struck volumes with Martin. She said it noted FHSU was looking for an individual who could lead in “a caring community with a strong work ethic.”
“That’s what I have found here,” she said. “The work ethic of the pioneers of the Midwest, Kansas and Hays is still alive and well today.”
Martin has worked for almost everything she has accomplished in her career, partially because of her background. When the communist regime took over in Cuba, Martin and her grandmother took a “leap of faith” by coming to the United States with nothing but the clothes on their backs. After finishing her primary education, Martin earned a bachelor’s degree from the Duke University, and an MBA and doctorate from the University of Richmond. Throughout her career, she has served in a variety of roles
including the vice president of a bank, chairwoman of Virginia’s Community College Board and, most recently, dean of the Reginald F. Lewis College of Business at Virginia State University. She was announced as the next president of Fort Hays State University in early May.
When Martin first saw the FHSU campus, he said she felt a “total spiritual peace of belonging.” She said that feeling continued last week when she drove into campus alone for the first time as president-elect.
“Not only did I feel that, but I felt a feeling of excitement, one of ‘I just can’t wait to get here,’ “she said. “People say to me, ‘You must be overwhelmed,’ but I’m not. I feel that I have the support, love, caring and guidance of individuals of the people that I have already met here and that makes it very reassuring.”
Martin spent the last week in Hays making preparations to take over as president on July 1, when longtime President Edward Hammond steps down — but she says it’s not so much about a transition.
“It’s more about getting to know people. … It’s not about getting to know me as the president, I want people to know me as Mirta,” she said. “So our transition meetings have been more about getting to know individuals — who they are, what their dreams and aspirations are.”
Although, Hammond will stay on as a consultant for the university for the next couple of years, Martin says that she has already learned from him.