Karl Martin is retiring following this spring 2025 semester after nearly 27 years of teaching at Point Loma Nazarene University. After graduating from PLNU with a literature degree in 1981, he returned as a staff member in 1998 and has been teaching all eras of American literature since. This marks his last chapter as a professor and as chair of the Department of Literature, Journalism & Modern Languages.
A number of students have voiced their feelings on his lasting impact and recount memorable lessons he has left them with.
“Dr. Martin is honestly one of the best professors I’ve had here at Loma,” Mariah Roman, a third-year literature major, said. “I remember being so intimidated during my freshman year, very unsure of myself and my place in the English department, but Dr. Martin has definitely helped me find confidence in my writing and in expressing my ideas.”
“As a transfer student, he made me feel really comfortable and welcome coming into our department,” Hana Sheridan, a fourth-year literature major, said.
Sheridan said that his teaching style was influential in the classroom because he made things more discussion based with his seminar style classroom setup, which allowed students to engage in a different way.
“This semester he is teaching a GE course with over 30 students, and I realized by the third class, that he had gone around and he already remembered everyone’s name and made it a point to get to actually know his students – like where they’re from, their major and make them feel seen,” Sheridan said.
Roman said she also appreciated the discussion style Martin ran in his classes.
“He always asks thought-provoking questions that made us deeply engage with the material in ways that I maybe wouldn’t have thought of before,” Roman said. “You can tell he truly cares about his students and what he teaches, and that really makes a difference.”
PLNU staff and students also recall the fun times Martin brought to the classroom, including sharing his love for music by connecting songs to the texts students were exploring.
“One memorable thing that really stuck with me about Dr. Martin’s teaching is the various times that he has played music for us in our classes,” Sheridan said. “He brings his iconic iPod to share personal songs to compare to different texts. By bringing in another form of art, he makes the lessons go beyond just what we’re reading in the text.”
Martin is also known for his music taste by fellow professors.
“Everybody knows about his love for popular music, so it wouldn’t surprise people that he has a boom box in his office,” Bettina Pedersen, PLNU professor of literature and women’s studies, said.
Pedersen worked alongside Martin for many years and said that above all, he has been an amazing friend and colleague who she will miss terribly. She noted that some of their most memorable moments took place at the start of their teaching careers at PLNU.
“I remember very vividly one day I was walking out of the building on the side door – I don’t know if I was headed to the caf or somewhere – and Karl [Martin] was coming in and he stopped me and he said, ‘I am so glad you are here.’ And it made me feel seen and my work affirmed. It made me feel like he saw that the scholarship, and the expertise, and the passion that I had for women’s writing and feminist studies, meant a lot to him, too,” Pedersen said.
Sheridan and Roman were given the opportunity to thank Martin for one thing after the numerous classes they have had with him.
“I would like to thank Dr. Martin for all of his guidance, his kindness and for sharing his passion, excitement and knowledge to us students. I would thank him for always uplifting all of us and for being very encouraging. Thank you for making reading exciting,” Sheridan said.
“The class discussions and reading assignments over the semesters have had a tremendous impact on me, both intellectually and personally, and I’ve learned so much from Dr. Martin,” Roman said.
Pedersen said that with Martin’s retirement, PLNU will lose their expert on American literature, but he will serve as a constant reminder that America has always been a diverse place.
“I will always think of Karl when I think of bearing witness to the diversity of the land in which I live, and in all that beauty and all the grief that’s carried in that diversity,” Pedersen said. “And I will always think of him as my friend. And I will miss my friend.”
Charis Johnston 
Tessa Balc