UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Emily Martell, managing director for the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been honored with the 2026 Award for Administrative Excellence.
The award, established in 1970, is given to a faculty or staff member whose performance, methods and achievements exemplify the highest standards of administrative excellence.
Nominators said Martell has an exceptional record of administrative leadership, strategic vision and sustained impact on Penn State and the broader academic community. She has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles at the University.
At Huck Institutes, Martell oversees interdisciplinary research institute operations, including finance, facilities, information technology and graduate education administration. Huck has more than $32 million in annual expenditures, 60 faculty and staff members, about 115 co-hires, 38 Huck chairs, 25 centers and three institutes. Huck supports six intercollege graduate degree programs and one professional master's program, supporting about 250 students. Huck is also home to several large external research grants, including $25 million in National Science Foundation (NSF) grants. Martell is also co-principal investigator on a $5 million NSF grant.
“Martell is the driving force behind the success of the Huck Institutes of the Life Science, and has worked tirelessly to promote administrative excellence across the University and the United States, repeatedly going above and beyond her already complex responsibilities to support Penn State’s mission and ensuring that Penn State is a recognized national leader in research administration,” a nominator said.
Nominators said Martell is able to seamlessly integrate information, infrastructure and people from across the University to ensure Huck functions flawlessly in its interdisciplinary approach to research in the life sciences. They said she’s able to predict challenges and arrive at solutions in real time.
“Martell’s contributions have had a transformative impact on each of the units she has supported,” a nominator said. “She’s always looking for ways to streamline processes, whether in the institute or as a financial officer, with a goal to reduce burden on those in her units. She led Universitywide projects as part of the SIMBA transition, improved labor distribution and effort certification systems and fostered partnerships across the University that supported interdisciplinary initiatives and advanced the research mission.”