A New College Institute board member is pushing for a community college to take over the beleaguered state-run higher education center in Martinsville.
Mark Crabtree, a dentist and former Martinsville mayor who joined the NCI board of directors in the spring, is proposing that Patrick & Henry Community College establish a Center for Workforce and Economic Development at NCI.
State funding already allocated to the institute, according to Crabtree’s plan, would transfer over to the community college with the blessing of the General Assembly. The current biennium appropriates about $3.1 million from the general fund to NCI for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Additional space in Martinsville’s Uptown district would allow the community college to expand its Fast Forward short-term credential programs and open a small business accelerator space, according to the draft resolution Crabtree shared.
NCI’s facility, known as the Baldwin Building, opened in 2014. Patrick & Henry Community College’s campus is less than 5 miles north of NCI.
Crabtree said NCI’s current workforce development programming would continue under the umbrella of the community college, and existing staff would be integrated into the new center. “None of NCI’s programs would go away,” he said.
“If this proposal moves forward, we believe it is in the best interest of our community for the facility to remain locally managed,” said Patrick & Henry Community College President Greg Hodges in a statement. “We believe we are best positioned to offer programming that serves the members of our community because of our ongoing collaborative partnership with local businesses and regional economic development organizations,”
The statement noted that the college takes “no pleasure in the dissolution of an organization or institution.”
NCI has come under scrutiny in recent years as its focus has shifted away from traditional higher education programs. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has tried to defund the institute in two consecutive budget proposals.
The institute has also been embroiled in a multiyear battle to try to win back millions from its old fundraising foundation, which wants to use the money for education throughout the region. Without that money, NCI has argued, it can’t properly deliver on its mission to serve Martinsville and the rural communities that surround it.
In an interview Monday, NCI Board Chair Eric Jones said he had seen “bits and pieces” of Crabtree’s proposal prior to a board meeting on Sept. 11.
He described the relationship between the institute and the community college as a collaborative one that seeks to find ways to complement each other. Having the community college take over NCI ultimately comes down to legislators, he said.
“We have to be extremely respectful to the democratic process that Virginia has laid out,” he said. Any change to state code about NCI’s operation as a higher education center relies on one or more members of the General Assembly bringing a bill forward for consideration, he said.
That’s true for any idea that may be presented regarding NCI’s future, Jones said. He used as an example a pair of bills in the General Assembly in January that proposed establishing a dental school in the region, potentially even at NCI. Neither version of the bill made it out of committee.
“The way forward, I think, is healthy discussion,” Jones said. “This is in the public domain now. I think there’s healthy discussion that can come from multitudes of citizens of Martinsville-Henry County and Southside … and lawmakers will have access to that discussion to make their informed decision.”
NCI’s mission has evolved over time
NCI was established by the state in 2006 to provide higher education and workforce training to people in the Martinsville area. It was also intended to be an economic catalyst for the region after the departure of its furniture and textile manufacturing industries led to population losses in the 1990s and the early years of this century.
Today, NCI staff teaches fiber optic technician training, wind energy industry safety training and construction courses. NCI also houses a de-escalation simulator used by the Piedmont Regional Criminal Justice Training Academy.
NCI also leases space to GenEdge, a nonprofit consultancy for the manufacturing industry, as well as to the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation.
NCI’s programming has leaned increasingly toward workforce development over the years, as online education has become more ubiquitous. The institute once provided space for graduate degrees administered by Radford University, Bluefield University and Virginia Tech. Its lone remaining college partner is Longwood University, which offers two education bachelor’s degree programs at NCI. Longwood had 11 graduates from its NCI programs in spring 2025. The university plans to sunset one of its degree options at NCI due to low enrollment and staff turnover, according to minutes of a June NCI board meeting.
“Longwood University values our partnership with the New College Institute and Patrick & Henry Community College,” a spokesperson from Longwood said Monday when asked whether a potential merger would impact Longwood’s work at NCI. “We look forward to ongoing conversation on the workforce development program.”
Crabtree’s proposal indicated that the community college would recruit additional four-year university partners to host programs at the Baldwin Building.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Patrick & Henry Community College had enrollment of nearly 3,000 students taking classes for credit or as part of Fast Forward, a statewide initiative offering short-term job training programs.
About 16% of students in 2024-2025 were dual enrolled, meaning they took classes for credit simultaneously for high school and the community college.
A $10 million, 13-year grant announced in 2021 from the Harvest Foundation covers the tuition and textbook costs for Martinsville and Henry County students.
[Disclosure: The Harvest Foundation is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
In December 2023, P&HCC opened a 22,000-square-foot addition for engineering, technology and manufacturing instruction.
Proposal has not been discussed by full board
Crabtree said he initially had planned to raise his idea during closed session at a meeting scheduled for Sept. 11.
That meeting was interrupted, however, a few minutes into the agenda, by a “Zoom bombing” cyber event during which unknown attendees broadcast audio recordings of racial slurs and pornographic video clips.
The meeting has not yet been rescheduled. Jones said Monday that the incident was reported to the FBI and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. NCI is reviewing its protocols and online meeting options to ensure that future board meetings are secure and can allow for public participation, he said.
NCI’s board has 15 members: five members of the General Assembly and 10 gubernatorial appointments. Most of the appointed members are from Martinsville or currently live there.
Crabtree said he approached the community college with his idea and has spoken with each of NCI’s board members individually. He said Friday he was “building consensus” among board members and had heard little opposition to the plan. Local board members were particularly in favor of having the community college take over NCI’s programs, he said.
The list of external supporters for Crabtree’s proposal includes Martinsville-Henry County EDC President and CEO Mark Heath; the Harvest Foundation; state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County; and Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry County, according to the resolution draft provided by Crabtree.
The Harvest Foundation was once a major funder of NCI but withdrew several years ago when it became clear that NCI wouldn’t be converted to a four-year university, which was originally intended, according to institute documents.
President Kate Heller confirmed the Harvest Foundation’s support for the proposal in a statement Monday. “As a convener and community thought partner, we’re fully engaged in ongoing conversations with local leaders like Dr. Crabtree about Martinsville-Henry County’s bright future. Our commitment remains focused on solutions that connect education with opportunity, and solutions that strengthen the workforce pipeline for local residents.”
In a statement Monday, Virginia Community College System Chancellor David Doré said, “We stand ready to assist if called upon by the Commonwealth.”
The merger, if completed, could have the potential to resolve a rift between NCI and its foundation, which rebranded itself in 2023 to serve the greater Martinsville region. The Martinsville-Henry County Academic Foundation, formerly the New College Foundation, is holding about $14 million in money NCI insists belongs to the institute, including about $7.5 million from the sale of the Baldwin Building campus to the state in 2020.
Mediation between the institute and the foundation in 2024 appears to have stalled out last fall; meanwhile, NCI has established a new foundation to raise money solely for its own support.
Crabtree’s proposal says that the MHC Academic Foundation “believes that” the proposed workforce development center “is consistent” with its mission of providing financial support for education in Martinsville and Henry County.
When asked whether a P&HCC takeover of NCI would resolve the battle over that pot of money, Crabtree said it would be “a significant step forward.”
Kevin DeKoninck, executive director of the MHCAF, did not respond to requests for comment.
In August, the MHCAF reported it had recently awarded $74,000 to 21 students attending Longwood’s education programs at NCI.
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Update 10:35 a.m. Sept. 16: This story has been updated to clarify that Eric Jones knew of the NCI proposal prior to its release to the media.