The New College Institute (NCI) in Martinsville has received a solid endorsement from the General Assembly as legislators wrapped up this year’s session Saturday.
Despite Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposing for a second time to defund the facility on Fayette Street in Martinsville effective July 1, 2026, the package of amendments to the biennial budget not only removes the governor’s language, but adds an additional $500,000 for the first year of the budget.
In October 2022, the NCI Board of Directors chose Joe Sumner as the new executive director from among 28 applications from candidates across the country. Sumner and Chief Advancement Officer Olivia Garrett made it clear that unlike Patrick & Henry Community College in Martinsville, Averett University in Danville, or Ferrum College in Franklin County, NCI is not a school in the traditional sense.
“NCI is not a school and never has been a school,” said Garrett.
Defined as a higher education center in rural Virginia, NCI facilitates opportunities without administering programs or issuing degrees. Instead, NCI partners with universities and workforce training programs and acts as a curator rather than a school.
NCI initially received a $50 million challenge grant from The Harvest Foundation intended for the creation of a traditional four-year university. When NCI changed its mission, the offer was withdrawn.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, when he was the governor of Virginia in 2004, committed the state to taking “a good hard look” at the idea of putting a public university in the area, Warner said at the time.
The Harvest Foundation promised the money if the state opened a four-year college or university in Henry County or Martinsville by January 2006 and public support for the concept grew with the Henry County Board of Supervisors and the Martinsville City Council approving a joint resolution calling for the creation of the university.
“One of the building blocks of a successful region is access to a public four-year college or university,” the resolution stated.
But traditional college enrollment peaked and has been in decline in the United States for over a decade.
NCI adapted and began to focus on regional and statewide workforce needs, such as wind energy training. With a $3.1 million annual budget, not including additional funds for student support, efforts under Sumner’s leadership are underway to align with state initiatives and secure financial support, including new potential partnerships with legislative backing.
Not a school
NCI is one of five higher education centers. “They are all in rural communities. There is one in South Boston, Danville, Martinsville and Abingdon, and then we have one up in Roanoke, which is probably the least rural of the five,” said Garrett. “It was early 2000s that these all were established, and it was an effort to connect higher educational opportunities to rural communities.”
The rural region, including Martinsville, has a historically low rate of college attendance and with Averett and Ferrum both being private schools, Martinsville residents are at least two hours away from the closest public university. NCI acts as a broker that facilitates the bringing together of the student and school.
The schools are “developing their own curriculum; they’re issuing their own degrees. NCI has never been tasked with doing that, and neither do the other four higher education centers,” Garrett said. “I think the confusion of calling it a school comes more into play with the origination of NCI; when The Harvest Foundation had their $50 million pledge grant.”
Garrett said when NCI became a higher education center, the idea of becoming a four-year university never left the community’s mind.
“I can see why someone might say ‘Oh, you have classrooms and classes and that makes it a school,’ but we don’t issue diplomas, degrees, or certificates,” said Garrett. “A higher education center is more of the facilitator.”
Sumner described the process of NCI as acting as a curator of different educational opportunities.
“We do not necessarily always have any sort of control over recruitment or enrollment or graduation,” said Sumner “We provide as much services as our partners would like for us to and as much as they ask and we constantly offer more, but if a partner wants complete autonomy and control over every aspect of their program,” then that’s what they get.
Sumner compared this relationship to a shopping mall with stores. If sales in one of the stores decline, it’s not the fault of the mall.
“We identify the educational or workforce need. We reach out and find the most fitting partners,” Sumner said. “Some of these programs come in and say ‘we’ve done this before and we got it. We’ll let you know if we need you.’ As a center, we are tasked with facilitating these [programs] in different ways.”
Bassett Office Supply CEO Manly Boyd is leading a new foundation to manage the fundraising for NCI and remembers when the prospects of NCI becoming a traditional school appeared to be a “silver bullet.”
“Imagine 2,500 full-time students living in town here in Martinsville along with the faculty and staff to support that. Surely the whole community grabbed onto this thing and thought, this is going to be transformational,” said Boyd. “When it was decided we were not going to be a stand alone or a supporting four-year institution, it’s been kind of a struggle to find the correct footing and partnerships and, frankly, funding to make this institution what I would consider to be an important driver of success for our community.”
Lee Prillaman is retired from Ernst & Young, one of the largest accounting firms and professional services companies in the world. He has served on the board of directors of The Harvest Foundation and is now a member of the board at NCI.
“I wasn’t living here when all this happened, but I would hear about it through family members and occasionally coming into town and reading some of the newspapers that my dad would keep on the shelf for us when we came in,” said Prillaman. “That was a great strategy at the time, but now it’s a different strategy. When you look at the other initiatives that are in process, GO Virginia, BRIC (Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor). We’re all part of that. To me, a critical element for us is finding a stake in the ground to be part of those two strategies and NCI developing a workforce and finding our niche; how we are relevant to those strategies that will be a success.”
Governor’s directive
Earlier this month, the NCI Board of Directors met for a regular meeting in Richmond. That meeting was attended by Education Secretary Aimee Guidera who bluntly stated that the governor’s directive was not to insure that NCI continue to exist, but to see that the economic development in the region is spurred and community transformation is taking place.
“My interpretation is they’re encouraging the board and leadership to look at multiple options, because I think they want to see NCI survive and thrive,” said Sumner. “So I think they’re encouraging us to look at and explore all options, but I don’t think there’s a mandate to go join up with somebody or integrate with someone.”
“They want NCI to have direction and hone in on what their strategic plan is,” added Garrett. “As far as the options go, they were pretty permissive in terms of pick what you want.”
Sumner said right now NCI is focused on the needs of the community, the region, and the state.
“We are speaking to anyone and everyone … to identify what options can you bring to solve regional workforce needs that we have listed or are listed statewide,” Sumner said. “We’re just focused on solving the regional workforce, and then, at a higher level, statewide.”
Sumner stressed that statewide needs “you may not necessarily see in your backyard,” can be significant revenue generators that drive the economy and create new opportunities locally.
“We are a premier training center for the Global Wind Organization. We have training candidates that come from all over the world and we provide training for onshore and offshore projects,” said Sumner. “We see this as being a chance to be of support at the statewide level, but also provide an opportunity for anyone in the region that wants to pursue that career.”
“You know wind energy development in the [United] States is in its infancy compared to the rest of the world, and right now it’s sort of a hot button issue, but the fact of the matter is, like the diversification of energy is going to happen one way or another, and wind energy technicians are the fastest growing occupation in the United States right now, and it’s been that way for a couple of years,” said Garrett. “NCI has its flag in the sand … with very unique program offerings that set us in this premier spot 20 years down the road. We could have a turbine in Southern Virginia … it puts Martinsville into a bigger picture.”
Dental school
State Sen. Bill Stanley, R- Franklin County, and Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry, filed companion bills this session that died in committees offering the region as a location to be studied as a possible location for a new dental school through Virginia Commonwealth University. Stanley has mentioned that NCI might be a good location for such a facility.
“As far as how it would fit on paper, the formula is exactly how NCI would operate.” said Sumner. “We would identify a need in the area, which we know there is a dental need, and then we would look for a partner that could bring in a solution for that.”
Sumner said a commitment to pairing a dental school with NCI would require a directive from his board, but it would fit the new directives they have set for themselves.
“I think it would be a bit premature of us to bring somebody in to absorb everything, not knowing what impact that would have to the partners we have and what they bring to this region,” Sumner said. “So I think it would be a bit premature of me to say we’re on board 100% with it. But we appreciate what the legislators do for us and we would welcome an opportunity to explore a dental program to serve the needs of our region.”
Sumner said it was unfortunate the dental school study died in committee when it was one that indeed fit NCI’s formula.
New foundation
In September, NCI established a new foundation for its fundraising operations while the original foundation still exists, disenfranchised from the entity it was formed to support and with over $14 million in assets, more than half of which came from the sale of the building on Fayette Street to the Commonwealth.
“Our purpose is to provide as much support as we can financially for NCI to meet and exceed its goals, because the institution is not going to be successful without financial resources,” said Boyd, the foundation’s chair. “We have not received our determination letter from the IRS, which allows us to become an entity that can solicit funds and offer tax abatement for those donations, so we’re in a little bit of a holding pattern.”
The Attorney General’s office has put the former foundation on notice that any monies dispensed not related to NCI will immediately trigger an investigation while the new foundation is hoping to open what has been an elusive dialogue with the group that employs a director who lives out of state, and has ceased responding to requests for comment.
“It is my sincere hope to get the people on that board to come to a very open table and discuss what their wishes and desires for that money are,” Boyd said. “It is my understanding that the office of the Attorney General has said the money can only be used for the purpose of supporting NCI.”
Path forward
Eric Jones is the recently elected board of directors chair for NCI. Chosen by his peers, Jones is the director of Space Mission Infrastructure and Security and Booz Allen Hamilton, a company specializing in intelligence, AI, and digital transformation and headquartered in McLean. Jones is a doctorate candidate at Marymount University, received his master’s degree at Johns Hopkins University, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree at Virginia State University and is a 1997 graduate of Laurel Park High School in Henry County.
“We’re becoming the bridge for new opportunity. We have a platform that the state is continuing to support. We are not a traditional community college, but we offer unique opportunities,” said Jones. “I want to embody and bolster that bridge to new opportunity.”
Jones said his parents both worked at DuPont and when he speaks with legislators in the state he not only is capable of telling Martinsville’s story, but adds the context only someone native to the area can do.
“I’m so humbled to be selected by my peers to lead. I’m 46 years old and I live in the DC — Annapolis area, but I continue to stay in tune with what’s happening here,” Jones said. “NCI makes Virginia stronger. It makes us more competitive. Our port has to be strong in the east, the I-81 corridor has to flourish and keep cargo and logistics flowing to Tennessee and further to the west and Southside has to be strong.”
Speaking on Saturday morning, prior to the finalization of the budget amendments by the General Assembly later that day, Jones said he was optimistic that the rest of the state understands the importance of NCI to the overall strength of the Commonwealth.
“The gavel hasn’t been dropped yet, but we’re going to get additional funding despite the threat of not receiving it. The legislators will make the final decision,” said Jones. “NCI is a bridge that can get someone to the next point. There are three state institutions in Martinsville: the Virginia Museum of Natural History, Patrick & Henry Community College, and NCI. We can have multiple things in a small community.”
Sumner said he wanted to assure everyone that NCI was on a positive path compared to two years ago.
“I think so many people are focused on the fact that we are not where they think we should be, yet the progress we’ve made is being overlooked,” said Sumner. “New teachers, law enforcement, and fiber optic technicians are not programs that we just randomly started. These were based on data, legislative actions, and regional needs.”
Sumner suggested that people so focused on the fact that NCI hasn’t made it to the finish line yet, overlook what has been put in place and the accomplishments of the past two years.
“We have a board and a new foundation and they include prominent community leaders who are stepping up and who are willing to go to bat for this organization and for the people that work here,” Sumner said. “These individuals have a name, a reputation and businesses of their own to operate, and they’re willing to dedicate their time and resources to help guide and navigate and lead us. The people that work at NCI are from this community. They were either born and raised here, or they have moved their families here, or they have left and have come back. These are people that want this place to succeed and want Martinsville to succeed.”
Sumner said, as a state funded institute, NCI was not immune to the stressors of politics; something beyond his control.
Said Sumner: “I can tell you this. we give our best every single day, and every single person in this building wants this place to succeed, and we’ll do whatever we’re told to do and whatever we think we can do to make sure that NCI is here to stay and be a part of the success of Martinsville.”
Bill Wyatt (276) 591-7543
bill.wyatt@martinsvillebulletin.com
@billdwyatt on Twitter
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