Message from Mario Martinez, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Students & families

Cheryl Nixon, Provost

Welcome to Fort Lewis College! Where learning and discovery meet the power of place. The natural beauty of Colorado’s environment and cultural history combined with our deep community and regional partnerships equals a transformational educational experience that can only happen at FLC. Our students can be found on rappelling and river expeditions with faculty, doing independent course work with tribal and indigenous communities, or even auditing campus dumpsters to ensure we are minimizing waste.

As Provost, I work in collaboration with faculty and staff to continually assure that we place students at the center of all we do. We do this by creatively turning knowledge into action through experiential and creative learning and in partnership with community and regional organizations.

I encourage you to learn more about our three schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business Administration, and School of Education In each school, you will find a wealth of exciting majors and minors, inspiring courses, and innovative programs. You will find academic experiences that awaken your curiosity, encouraging you to ask new questions and discover new answers. And, most importantly, you will find dedicated faculty that will help you to shape a meaningful college career that both challenges and supports you.

One of our most important goals is to connect you to a "community of care." We provide a wide range of resources to ensure your success, including tutoring (peer education), advising, career and life design, undergraduate research, counseling, recreational services--and more! See our full resource guide: Resources for Student Success and Support. 

Faculty & staff

Thank you for all that you do to serve our students and guide them on their academic quest for knowledge. I am proud to serve our vibrant community of educators, working with you on our goals of academic access, excellence, equity, and achievement. It is exciting to come together to imagine and implement new models of student-centered education. This webpage contains materials that aim to support and guide you throughout your FLC career; please check back for new materials as we continue to update the site.

We value the full, open, and transparent sharing of ideas that will move Fort Lewis College forward. Faculty and staff are welcome to join into our Campus Conversations about retention, our "Community of Care," housing issues, faculty and staff compensation--and more. Agendas, notes, and recording of sessions are available on our CAS-protected site: Campus Conversations

Due to your hard work, Fort Lewis College is experiencing great success. Our initiatives and programs have garnered national attention. For example, please see:


Brief Biography

Mario Martinez serves as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fort Lewis College. Mario’s twenty-five-year career in higher education has included administrative positions in public and private institutions, as a vice chancellor, department chair, and dean. He was a professor of higher education for sixteen years, studying higher education finance and policy, governance structures, and strategy. Mario’s experience includes consultations with states, institutions, and major Foundations, engagements which ranged from assisting states with strategic planning to studying innovations that might scale to improve access and affordability. His books range from those for professional application to academic works.