Fullerton College announced Elizabeth Martínez as Interim vice president of student services on Aug. 1, 2024, following former VPSS Gil Contreras’s departure for San Bernardino Valley College.
Martínez started her academic journey as an upward bound student, being the first in her family to attend college. She attended University of California, Los Angeles where she graduated with a degree in Sociology and Chicano Studies. After that she enrolled at University of San Diego where she earned her Master’s Degree in Counseling. Martínez is returning to UCLA to finish her doctorate degree and dissertation. She believes in the importance of attending community colleges to help with obtaining a degree. As a student who got her start at Compton Community college, now serving on their foundation board, Martínez says she values the role of the community colleges in helping students get a degree.
Martínez is no stranger to helping out others. She participated in outreach programs that focused on helping families and students to help them navigate from high school to four- year universities. COLEGAS program is an out-reach program which helps the Lantix community develop leadership and achieve a higher education.
Before coming to Fullerton College, Martínez worked at Compton College for almost 17 years. Her positions there ranged from coordinator, director, dean, and eventually vice president of the college.
The VP of Student Services oversees a larger number of services here at the college. Puente Program, EOPS, FYSI, Umoja program are just to name a few.
“My plans here at Fullerton College are to be supportive to students anyway I can,” says Martínez.
After Compton College lost accreditation in 2005, Martínez worked toward getting it back and keeping its doors open for in-coming students.
Previous president Dr. Monte E. Perez came to Fullerton College bringing with him his spirit of his other academic successes and relevant work experiences into FC. He worked as the assistant director of Stanford University and took what he learned there to help run the school here.
President Gilbert J. Contreras left an approach to how we should run Fullerton College, one with an antiracist paradigm with efforts to strengthen DEIA. He also brought new programs like Behavioral Health Services, The Promise Program, and the Catalyst grant to help undocumented students.
Martínez has the oversight of all the student services here at the college. EOPS, FYSI, CARE, DSI, Food Bank, etc. Martínez is making sure that all the student services are available to all students who are in need and to help them get what they need. If someone is struggling in a certain area she wants to help them in that area so that they can continue on. She wants to support students every step of the way.
“We are really looking at the services that we have here at Fullerton College and making sure we are focusing our efforts through that lens and helping students every step of the way,” said Martínez. “We are trying to see where students are losing momentum and support them in those areas so that they succeed in meeting their goals.”
A correction was made to a previous version of this article. Gil Contreras will be departing for San Bernardino Valley College, not Riverside City College.