Speaker Joseph Martin, Jr.

About the Institute
The Joseph W. Martin Institute for Law and Society  was established by Stonehill in 1990, with Congressional funding, in memory of Joseph Martin Jr. (1884-1968), the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law legislation for the creation of an institute at Stonehill College in Martin's honor.

As a Congressman representing a nearby district, Speaker Martin had a close relationship with the College and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Stonehill in 1955. The College acquired his papers and documents upon Speaker Martin's death in 1968.

Mission
Under a newly revised mission adopted by Stonehill’s Board of Trustees in 2006, The Martin Institute will prepare students for leadership as active citizens in service to an improved human community. Through rigorous, critical interdisciplinary inquiry, the Institute will challenge the students to explore the vital issues of public policy and social justice. In exploring law and society, the Institute will be committed to a curriculum that bridges theory and practice, inviting student curiosity in and engagement with the pressing issues of the day.