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SUNY Canton to Award Former Congressman David O’Brien Martin

with Honorary Doctorate Degree

SUNY Canton will award former Congressman David O’Brien Martin with an honorary Doctorate Degree at its commencement exercises on Saturday, May 20.

"Throughout his career, David Martin has always remained faithful to the people of the North Country," noted SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. "This is our way of thanking him for his years of wonderful commitment to the betterment of our region."

Martin has had a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, politician, professor and businessman. He has spent most of his life serving the people of Northern New York and to a greater extent the people of our nation. His far-reaching vision helped to bring the 10th Mountain Division to Fort Drum and commenced the construction of the modern military facility that Fort Drum is today. Troops from the 10th Mountain Division have been actively involved in our nation’s battles against terrorism, including major military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The long term economic impact of the expansion of Fort Drum has been staggering. More than $1.3 billion was spent on construction there from 1985 to 1993 during Martin’s tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Martin is a St. Lawrence County native, who graduated from Hugh C. Williams High School in 1962. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1966, and shortly thereafter was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps until 1970, including 13 months of combat duty in Vietnam. He attended Albany Law School and graduated with a J.D. in 1973.

He was elected to the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators in 1973, and he started a private law firm in Canton in 1974. From 1976 to 1980, he served in the New York State Assembly representing St. Lawrence County and part of Franklin County. In 1980, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served six terms representing Northern and Central New York until January, 1993.

Martin’s father, Edson A. Martin, donated the land that SUNY Canton was built upon. Edson Martin’s gift provided the space for the campus to evolve into a leading college in the North Country and its growth continues today. Edson A. Martin was the recipient of SUNY Canton’s first ever Distinguished Citizen Award in 1976. He was recognized again in 1991 when the college named Edson A. Martin Athletic Fields in his honor.

"Those of us who know Dave Martin know that he is a man of his word, a man of the highest integrity, and a man who has contributed much to the House of Representatives and to his constituency," said Senator Alfonse D’Amato in a tribute to the congressman at his retirement. "His service in the Congress is marked by his commitment to doing what is right, not what is necessarily politically popular at the moment. He is the kind of man our forefathers had hoped would be drawn into our representative democracy."

In 1992, Congressman Martin chose not to seek re-election and instead became a professor of national security decision making at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. From 1994 to 1997 he served as Vice President of the National Soft Drink Association. Martin served as President of InterBev Limited Inc., a subsidiary of the National Soft Drink Association, from 1997 to 2000.

Currently, Martin is the President of Martin, Fischer, Thompson and Associates, a Washington-based government affairs, consulting and marketing firm that he established in 2000. Martin resides with his wife Dana in Rockville, Maryland.

SUNY Canton is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year and is in the midst of its highly successful SUNY Canton Centennial Campaign: Cultivating the Minds of Tomorrow. In addition to 25 associate degree programs, SUNY Canton currently offers 10 four-year degrees with plans to announce several other new programs during the next academic year. SUNY Canton also offers three unique master’s degrees in conjunction with SUNYIT, Utica. The College has recently embarked upon articulation agreements with Lomonosov Moscow State University and Osaka College of Foreign Languages and International Business in Japan, allowing international scholars the ability to obtain a SUNY Canton degree locally or abroad.

May 9, 2006

Media inquiries should be directed to Greg Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7527.

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