CHATMOSS -- Years of work by advocates for a new public college in Southside culminated Wednesday, as Gov. Tim Kaine signed legislation to create the New College Institute, and officials announced its first classes will begin this fall.

Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, Kaine called Wednesday's signing ceremony the "end of the beginning" for the college, which will collaborate with other Virginia colleges and universities to help provide four-year degrees.

Even as advocates waited for the Virginia General Assembly to complete a budget that will likely help provide some startup money for setup and operations, New College Institute Executive Director Barry Dorsey announced a pilot program of classes that will be offered this fall.

The classes -- offered through Longwood University, Radford University, Averett University, Ferrum College and the University of Virginia -- will help provide Southside students with master's and bachelor's degrees in criminal justice, business administration, health and education programs.

Classes will be offered at Patrick Henry Community College and at the Shumate-Jessie Building, which is in uptown Martinsville and is under renovation. Dorsey said he expects the renovation work to be complete by mid-August, which is when the first classes are scheduled to start.

Supporters hope the New College Institute will help revive an economy that has been heavily affected by the departure of thousands of manufacturing jobs over the past 15 years.

"In Southside, the three-T economy -- timber, tobacco and textiles -- is a pale shadow of its former self," said former Gov. Gerald Baliles, who delivered the keynote speech.

"Too many rural areas today pursue economic development with more emphasis on shell buildings and quality of life statements than on education. Education is the now the key to economic development because there is an undeniable link between the two," Baliles said.

The New College will target Southside students who have completed an associate's degree at a community college or who have completed a year or two of study in an undergraduate program, and planners envision a program to allow students to rapidly earn a degree.

Eventually, planners hope, the New College Institute can be developed into a baccalaureate college or branch campus.

"I got to witness the birth of both of my daughters, and in some respects I got to witness the birth of a third child today," said Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, who along with Del. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, sponsored the New College bill in the House of Delegates.

"It's been a hard and at times difficult thing, because how often does the state start a new college? Not often," Armstrong said. "And there's such an intense competition over resources in Richmond."

When then-Gov. Mark Warner offered his two-year budget, he included $4.5 million for the New College. That number, however, was trimmed significantly in both the Senate and House budgets.

Because the two are still in conference over the state budget, the final allocation for the New College is still unknown, but it is likely to be substantially less than Warner's initial figure.

Kaine said Wednesday that he'd ensure the New College gets the funding it needs.

"I get to write a budget for the second year of the two-year budget next year," Kaine said. "This is a very important priority to me personally because it's so important to the region. If we find that whatever the ultimate number in this year's budget isn't enough, I'm going to look for opportunities to increase that."