Robert R. Martin (educator)

Robert R. Martin
Member of the Kentucky Senate
from the 22nd district
In office
January 1, 1978  January 1, 1987
Preceded byJohn F. Lackey
Succeeded byBill Clouse
7th President of Eastern Kentucky University
In office
July 1, 1960  September 30, 1976
Preceded byWilliam F. O'Donnell
Succeeded byJ.C. Powell
30th Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction
In office
1956–1959
Preceded byWendell P. Butler
Succeeded byWendell P. Butler
Personal details
Born(1910-12-26)December 26, 1910
McKinney, Lincoln County, Kentucky
DiedNovember 29, 1997(1997-11-29) (aged 86)
Richmond, Kentucky
Resting placeRichmond Cemetery, Richmond, Kentucky
Political partyDemocratic
EducationEastern Kentucky University (AB)
University of Kentucky (MA)
Teachers College, Columbia University (EdD)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army Air Corps
RankTechnical sergeant

Robert Richard Martin (December 27, 1910 – November 29, 1997) was a Kentucky educator and politician. He was the 30th Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1955, and served in that role through 1959, then becoming state finance commissioner. Later in 1960 he became the seventh president of Eastern Kentucky State College (which became Eastern Kentucky University in 1966). In 1977, the year after he retired as EKU president, Martin was elected as a Democratic member of the Kentucky Senate, taking office in January 1978 and serving through 1986. He represented Kentucky's 22nd Senate district, which at the time of his election comprised Garrard, Jessamine, Madison, and Mercer counties.