GREENSBORO, N.C. — In the tidy, award-adorned fourth-floor office of NCA&T's top leader, a mix of emotions is palpable.
Graduation is closing in, and the pages are dwindling in chancellor Dr. Harold Martin's decades-long story at his beloved alma mater.
Martin announced in 2023 his plans to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic school year, and as that date looms on his calendar, he sat down for a candid conversation with the Good Morning Show's Meghann Mollerus.
Timing the end of an era
The time, he said, feels right for him to hand over the reigns now.
"My personality is such that we've set big goals for the institution over the last 15 years, we've achieved quite a number of those over the time. The next big goal for us is moving toward R1 ("very high" status for a doctoral research university) and building infrastructure that supports our university and continued success. In my mind, that would take a good five years to really do it the way I want to do it, so after 15 years, I'm not convinced another five years is wise for me," he explained.
Martin said he acknowledges it's also time for "new, fresh ideas" to come in from his existing team and a new leader.
Looking back
For Martin, the Triad is home. As a Winston-Salem native, he attended Carver High School, where he was a standout basketball player and contemplating pursuing athletics in college. Ultimately, his passion for academics weighed out, and he enrolled as a freshman in 1969.
He focused his studies on engineering, obtaining both bachelor of engineering and master of engineering degrees at NC A&T State University, before pursuing a doctorate at Virginia Tech (since A&T did not have doctoral programs, at the time).
Among his many role models was legendary astronaut Ronald McNair, who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986.
"We crossed paths often. He was always enthusiastic, gregarious, well-respected. He knew what he wanted to do in his career, and I had some of those similar characteristics as a student," Martin reflected.
His passion for academic eventually took him through a role in leadership, where he served as chancellor at Winston-Salem State and then took a job in the UNC System. In 2009, he got a call the A&T chancellor position had opened, and he was in contention for the job.
"I had to think about it. I had really begun to enjoy the work with our schools as a senior vice-president (of academic affairs) for the UNC System. I was in my third year, and I really wanted to spend another couple years or so engaging in the key role I was in," he admitted.
That said, he realized A&T was moving through a challenging time with loss of enrollment and instability of leadership, so he consulted his beloved wife and longtime confidant --Davida Wagner Martin -- and "returned enthusiastically."
He is now the longest-serving HBCU chancellor in the country and within the UNC System, having taken on a number of big goals over his tenure.
Accolades
In fall 2014, Martin helped NCA&T grow to become the largest HBCU in the country. The university cites a 246% growth rate over 10 years (2011-2021) and has held that ranking ever since.
"We began to focus the institution by being more selective. At a time when we were losing enrollment, we became more selective," he said.
The strategy paid off, growing the average GPA and sustaining high enrollment. At the same time, the university remained affordable for many families. In fall 2021, U.S. News and World Report found NC A&T was able to meet 84 percent of first-year students' requests for financial aid through FAFSA. Martin said the university has systems in place to keep tuition in reach.
"We'll have to continue to raise funds. We're building our endowment very dramatically today. We have to compete in that space. Many of these incredibly bright students we're recruiting to our campus are students from first generation backgrounds, low-income families, so they need resources to invest in them," he explained.
He said these students also need the framework not to have compounding debt after college.
Challenges
Like any steadfast leader, Martin has encountered times of immense challenge over his long tenure.
In discussing his regrets, he said, "I think one of the areas where I've had the greatest loss of sleep and anxiety is our university is in east Greensboro. There is increasing crime around our community and around the state. Protecting this institution, protecting our students and protecting our employees is an ongoing conversation."
Since 2016, four students have died in acts of violence at off-campus housing. Three of the tragedies happened during homecoming weekends. After an incident that killed Kaneycha Turner at an off-campus gathering in 2022, Martin issued a profound statement saying, "When such disastrous history is repeated in our midst, we ignore it at our own peril."
One solution, he said, is finding balance, ensuring parents know their sons and daughters are safe while also protecting students' freedom to move about campus.
"We have to continue to improve our partnership with GPD (Greensboro Police Department), the sheriff and other partners in our community. This past year, for example, we had an incredible homecoming -- a very safe event. I thought we were very proactive in engaging our community and educating our students about safety issues going on in the community, how to stay safe and engage in a healthy way," he explained.
Honoring history for the future
Martin looks back with pride on his time as a student within the university -- and the history it signified. He enrolled as a freshman in 1969, nine years after the Greensboro sit-ins, when four A&T students took a stand for civil rights by sitting down at the whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth (now home of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro).
He believes the message of the Greensboro Four continues to transcend generations.
"It's what we see politically and in much of the division carrying political discussions nationally but also the assessment that racism still exists in our society in various ways," he said.
Martin referenced the nationwide protests that erupted after the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.
"I think when we saw the unfortunate murder of George Floyd play out nationally, it created an opportunity for our nation as a whole to come to grips with, in this particular instance, policing in America. It also gave our university an opportunity to engage with our students to help them understand the desire to join in the protests, to join in sharing our voices, as well," Martin explained.
What's next
As Martin prepares to box up his office and turn his tassel on his tenure, he admitted he feels excited about what is next. He said he and his wife plan to make the Triad their permanent home and intend on being involved in various boards, including United Way and Piedmont Triad Partnership.
"We (also) expect to remain actively involved in the university and supportive of the new chancellor and their leadership of this institution, being financially supportive of this institution as other donors are as well and as we've always been, and being involved in economic growth and prosperity in the Piedmont Triad region."
He said he's very interested in how this area continues luring big industries and "ensuring our institutions in higher educations are meeting the needs of those corporate entities and organizations."
Martin concluded, "I think this is an incredible place to live and raise a family and play, if you will, so we want to continue to be a part of that."
He vows to continue upholding his famous quote that inspired the tagline "Always doing. Never Done."
As he tells students, "At A&T, we're always better than yesterday but never as good as we will be tomorrow."
In this next step, he also plans to enjoy quality family time with his wife, two sons and four grandchildren. Meanwhile, the UNC System is undergoing a nationwide search for A&T's next chancellor and could announce a selection soon.
