MARTI's Mission:
The Mid-Atlantic Research and Training Institute for Community and Behavioral Health's primary mission centers on developing and implementing research, education, and training programs in the areas of substance use disorders, treatments, environmental/community health, domestic violence intervention, and mental health issues, and also includes related leadership and diversity programs aimed at the institute's many clients and community stakeholders
MARTI was one of the first centers and institutes at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. Robert Ackerman, a noted author, lecturer, and researcher in the field of alcohol and the family, is the founding director, and Edward Gondolf, a nationally recognized researcher in the domestic violence field and treatment evaluation, the cofounder. For decades, MARTI has been a powerhouse organized around a consortium of academic and professional experts in the field of alcohol abuse treatment, domestic violence intervention, and related mental health issues.
Since 2012, the institute's new director, Victor Garcia, its associate director, Alex Heckert, and research associates have expanded the institute's early focus to include new initiatives, among them alcohol and drug research, veterans' reintegration family and mental health issues, and training conferences for health professionals. The name of the institute was recently changed by removing "Addiction" and adding "Community and Behavioral Health" to reflect the institute's broader mission in the areas of health, education, and community outreach.
Since its inception, MARTI's research and training missions have included community and behavioral health. Despite the recent changes, the emphasis and strengths of the institute remain in the areas of substance abuse, violence, and related mental health prevention and intervention training and programs. MARTI's many contributions to both scientific and service communities is recognized by government and private funders as evidenced by the continuing and increasing levels of grants and contracts awarded. MARTI has been one of the most successful research and training institutes on campus and in the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø State System of Higher Education. MARTI's many accomplishments can be found online in the institute's public annual reports. More important, the institute's long and consistent track record in the community continues, and its credibility and high regard among various constituencies remains resilient.
MARTI is located at Stright Hall. It consists of four contingent offices and a conference room, which is used both for staff meetings and for interviews and focus group discussions with respondents by the directors, collaborators, and research associates working on MARTI initiatives. There is one additional office located in the university's new Humanities and Social Sciences Building used to store sensitive research data and to house MARTI research associates. MARTI offices, including the conference room, are supplied with the necessary equipment to support the institute's initiatives and many projects.
In addition to the director and associate director, MARTI has 12 research associates in the departments of Anthropology, Economics, Journalism and Public Relations, and Sociology. All MARTI research associates have personal academic offices in their respective departments, but their own research offices are also needed.