Randolph Community College President Dr. Shah presented the college’s FY26 priorities to the Randolph County Board of Commissioners, reporting enrollment growth (9,661 students), audited financial cleanliness, and several capital and operating requests including work on a planned Liberty Center.

Dr. Shah said the college had awarded more than 1,600 credentials this year and estimated a broad economic impact for the county. He described an ambitious Liberty Center project with a total estimated Phase 1 cost of $25,000,000, for which the college envisions a three‑way funding model: state one‑third, county one‑third and college one‑third. "Phase 1 of it will be 25 [million], and we were hoping that you can somehow plan on helping us with $8,000,000 for it," Dr. Shah said.

Why it matters: The Liberty Center and other capital priorities (parking expansion, an AI2C center, deferred maintenance at campus facilities) would expand workforce training and industry readiness in Randolph County, but implementation hinges on additional county, state and college funding and on providing infrastructure at training sites.

Dr. Shah noted specific capital constraints: professional designs for the training/wastewater improvements cost about $1.4 million, and the college cannot expand classes at that facility until water and sewer are installed. He described prior county support for land acquisition (the college and commissioners discussed a $1.5 million county contribution for Liberty land last year) and asked commissioners to consider additional support as the county finalizes its budget.

The college emphasized workforce alignment—graduates placed in nursing, truck driving and industry training—and reported progress on the AI2C center and deferred maintenance spending. Dr. Shah also told commissioners that the college employs 52 people whose payroll flows indirectly from county funding and asked the board to consider employee compensation impacts when setting county pay increases.

Next steps: The college will provide detailed capital cost breakdowns to county staff and continue discussions with legislators about state matching dollars; commissioners will consider any county contribution in the FY26 budget process.