The women in her family shared the name Carolyn, earning nicknames "Buck" (grandmother), "Boolie" (mother), and "Biddy" for Martin.

[9] Martin is the author of numerous articles and two books—one on a literary and cultural figure in the Freud circle, Lou Andreas-Salomé, and the other on gender theory.

[11] Malone's suicide note, which was published by The Good Men Project, alleged that President Martin's first question to the student upon meeting him to discuss the assault was: "Have you handled your drinking problem?"

[12] The purported mishandling of Malone's case and his subsequent suicide raised the question within the media of victim blaming by college administrators around the country.

[14] In 2008, Martin announced a financial aid initiative aimed at eliminating need-based loans for all undergraduate students from families with incomes under $75,000.

[14] As chancellor, Martin led successful initiatives to increase need-based financial aid, improve undergraduate education, and enhance research administration.

Martin also spearheaded an effort to gain greater operating flexibility and increased autonomy for Wisconsin’s flagship campus.

At the 2008 Diversity Forum, she closed the event stating, "We are a plural people whose joint efforts are required to address the world's problems.

This proposal, called the "New Badger Partnership", was purportedly intended to safeguard the university finance and help mend the state's fiscal gaps.

[22] The most radical feature of this plan involved the separation of UW-Madison from the University of Wisconsin System, and redesignating it as a public authority governed by an independent Board of Trustees.