History Professor and MacArthur Recipient Named Among Women of the Year
- Apr 3, 2023
[Editor's Note: This story is part of a Texas Global series celebrating UT Austin faculty members whose work has received international honors or awards.]
Associate professor Monica Muñoz Martinez was recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Year for her work documenting anti-Mexican violence at the Mexico-United States border in the early 20th century.
An award-winning historian and professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Liberal Arts, Martinez is devoted to making accessible the truthful accounts of Mexican history and injustice. That work also earned her a prestigious MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in 2021.
"I think it's important for lifting the work that women do and contribute, but also helping younger generations learn about all the things that they can do if they aspire to. And I'm proud that, as a historian, there are some girls out there, hopefully, and kids that think about being historians and the important work of learning from the past to inform a better future,” Martinez told FOX 7 Austin. “So I'm proud and I'm honored, and I'm committed to doing more good work.”
Also recognized on the honorable Women of the Year list is former First Lady Michelle Obama; the first-ever Mexican-born American woman to launch to space, Katya Echazarreta; and Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, just to name a few.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” Martinez said. “I am blown away and truly humbled to be in the company of the other women being acknowledged.”
Read more at USA Today.
