Charles R. Martinez Jr., chairman of the Oregon Board of Education, has accepted a position as the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas in Austin, effective Jan. 1.

Martinez, now a University of Oregon professor in the Department of Educational Methodology, Policy and Leadership, said he plans to stay on the state board at least through the fall.

“I have not yet made any a decision about when my service to the State Board will end,” Martinez wrote in an email to Oregon Capital Insider. “I will want to continue service in support of the work of the board and ODE (the Oregon Department of Education) as long as possible through the fall.”

Martinez plans to serve as dean-designate at UT until his appointment is effective in 2019. He will make regular visit to the UT Austin campus, UT News reported in a July 10 article.

Then-Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed Martinez to the Oregon Board of Education, and he was confirmed by the Oregon Senate in November 2013. Gov. Kate Brown re-appointed him to the position in July 2017. He was elected as board chair in June 2016.

He previously served an elected member of the Eugene School Board and worked as researcher and senior scientist for 15 years at the nonprofit Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene.

As the U of O’s vice president for institutional equity and diversity from 2005 to 2011, Martinez led the development of the university’s first equity and inclusion plan. He currently directs the U of O Center of Equity Promotion.

UT News described Martinez — clinical psychologist and prevention scientist by education — as “a prolific researcher, having secured more than $35 million in sponsored research.”

His research specializes in identifying educational and social factors that promote healthy adjustment for immigrants and other families and children from culturally diverse populations who may be likely to experience disparities in access and outcomes, UT News reported.