Pamela Martin

Contact Pamela Martin

843-349-2966 plmartin@coastal.edu

Brittain Hall 349

Office Hours
Wednesdays 1-3 p.m. and by appointment

You are so lucky to be starting your path with so much before you."

Biography

Pamela Martin joined Coastal Carolina University's Department of Political Science in 1999. In 2015, she became the 19th recipient of the HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer Award. In 2008, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research and teach at La Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador in 2009. Her research and writing focus on global environmental politics, energy, sustainable development, and international relations and policy. Martin is also the Executive Director and founder of the RISE Center, a United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development.

She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

She has written and edited numerous books and articles in her field, including "Ending the Fossil Fuel Era,” for which she and her co-editors were awarded the Best Book Award for Environmental Studies by the International Studies Association.  Her most recent book (MIT 2021) focuses on pathways to implement the Sustainable Development Goals through Earth Jurisprudence Martin also directs the grant-funded CCU Solar Ambassador team, which places solar panels on non-profits in our community.

She has worked closely on international collaborations with Ecuador and has written extensively about oil extraction in the Amazon and their constitutional rulings on Rights of Nature.

She currently works to link the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda to local communities and to campus.  This includes a partnership with the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation to provide paid internships in sustainable development to CCU students, as well as community education on sustainability and resilience.  In the fall 2022, Martin was appointed as the Sustain SC fellow and is working with conservation and industry in SC to build a more sustainable future.

Interesting Facts about Pamela Martin

Martin enjoys hiking, running, and yoga. She is married to her husband, Bill,and has two children, Gabriella and William. 

And, despite the challenges of our planet, Martin finds hope in our dedicated and passionate CCU students.  As the speaker for the August 2015 commencement, she placed the new graduates’ achievement in a global perspective. “Slightly under 7 percent of the world’s population has the degree that you have earned today,” she said. “Sixty percent of your fellow U.S. citizens do not have such a degree. Given these statistics, it is clear that you have something to celebrate today.”

Martin celebrates and seeks the diverse skill set of sustainability leadership with our students through the UN Centre on Sustainable Development and real world internships that link academic content and research to real world context and job opportunities.