A professor of English, Theodore K. Martin came to Mississippi State in 1949 as registrar. He became administrative assistant to the president in 1953, and in 1956 was named dean of the then School of Education. He returned to the president's office in 1960 as executive assistant and became vice president in 1966.
Under his leadership, the university in 1972 became a national leader in the effort to accommodate and assimilate students with disabilities. The university now enrolls more than 200 students who are disabled. Dr. Martin retired in 1984 and died in 1994.
The T. K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability was formally named in April, 1997.