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There’s been an abrupt leadership change at Bluefield State University amidst growing financial concerns.
At its regular meeting Thursday, the Bluefield State University Board of Governors voted to withdraw approval of a renewed presidential contract for Darrin Martin, immediately ending his employment with the university. Board Vice Chair Cathy Deeb will serve as Acting President.
Martin was selected unanimously as Bluefield’s new president in November 2024 and formally inaugurated into the position a year ago. He is not only a native of Bluefield, but also a third generation graduate of the institution.
Martin’s selection came exactly one year after he was appointed interim president in 2023 following the departure of former president Robin Capehart. Capehart resigned amid a Higher Learning Commission investigation and accusations that university leadership “did not operate with integrity.”
The board had approved Martin’s contract extension in July. But during the Aug. 27 meeting board chair Charlie Cole reported that the university is behind on paying financial obligations by at least $1.5 million dollars.
“This board has taken seriously the direction to allow the president to manage the day-to-day operations of the institution,” he said. “However, upon finding this information out about unpaid bills, this board has been unable to obtain reliable evidence of the outstanding debts, or actual balances, or finances of the institution and has received mixed and conflicting numbers from the president.”
Cole also said Bluefield was the only school in the state that failed to submit its annual state appropriation request on time, which amounted to $7 million last year. The board was also not notified of potentially serious violations of NCAA rules, leading to an emergency board meeting last week.
“Our intention after executive session was to discuss this with the president. However, upon ending the executive session, the president had left and was not available to speak to the board,” Cole said. “Although the president previously had the board’s support, recent information was beginning to show a pattern of financial mismanagement, coupled with the lack of transparency and candor from the president, the board will vote to withdraw prior approval of the president’s renewed contract…”
The board also announced they are hiring a third-party accounting firm to do a comprehensive evaluation of the university’s current finances, outstanding debts and account balances.