(Butler, PA) U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly recognized Butler County Community College on July 30 for its recent 60th anniversary and its impact before touring main campus and several facilities prioritized for enhancements in the college’s first major fundraising campaign more than in a decade.

Atop the certificate of special congressional recognition from which Kelly recited was a golden seal embossed with U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES lettering.

“We commend Butler County Community College for six decades of excellence in education, community service and workforce development,” Kelly read before presenting the framed document to BC3 President Megan M. Coval in her office crowded with college vice presidents, executive directors and others.

“Since its founding in 1965 as the first community college in western Pennsylvania, BC3 has expanded opportunities and transformed the lives of countless students.

“We congratulate the students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees and community partners whose dedication has shaped this remarkable legacy and wish the college continued success in the years ahead.”

Besides BC3’s main campus in Butler Township, Kelly’s 16th congressional district includes the college’s additional locations in Cranberry Township, Butler County, and in Shenango Township, Lawrence County.

“To receive this type of recognition and accolade from a member of Congress, and one who is also so connected to our hometown, is especially meaningful,” Coval said. “I think it speaks volumes about what we have been able to accomplish here at BC3 over our 60 years.”

Kelly’s tour, on the final day of BC3’s Kids on Campus summer enrichment program, began in a radiologic technology lab being built in the hospital-like Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building.

 

“Anybody who wonders ‘How do you put something like this together?’ should come to Butler County Community College. They will show you.”

-- U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16

 

Kelly observed the Dr. Robert L. Paserba Teaching and Learning Lab, where BC3 education students can gain practical experience in its simulated elementary school classroom, and viewed the blackened three-story burn building used by BC3’s Public Safety Training Center to educate firefighters.

 

 

“Every time we come here we see the value that’s been added to our community,” Kelly said. “Everything goes through education. This has been a phenomenal example of what happens when you do it the right way. This has been done the right way. I think it’s the model.

“Anybody who wonders ‘How do you put something like this together?’ should come to Butler County Community College. They will show you.”

 

“(U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly) was able to see in that tour the variety of ways and the endless ways that we serve our community.”

-- Megan M. Coval, BC3 president

 

Kelly also visited the Student Success Center, where a pavilion is planned to allow outdoor student events to proceed should weather turn inclement, and where the Glenn T. Miller Welcome Center – named for the 28-year BC3 trustee who passed away in January – is proposed.

“I am thrilled that Congressman Kelly spent so much time with us,” Coval said. “He was able to see in that tour the variety of ways and the endless ways that we serve our community. Being able to share all the wonderful things that we are doing at BC3 is one of the most incredible parts of my job.

“There is no shortage of stories and connections that have made all of this happen.”

 

“It’s leadership. We’ve had tremendous leadership here.”

-- U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16

 

The BC3 Future Fund, the college’s first major fundraising campaign in a decade, celebrates the college’s 60th anniversary. Its goal is to raise $6 million.

The campaign’s priorities are to improve the experience of students, to strengthen that of the nearly 18,000 community members who in 2025 attended 176 events on BC3’s main campus, and to invest in workforce innovation.

Nearly 350 donors have pledged or contributed $3 million in the past year, according to Mikayla Moretti, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation and external relations.

BC3 also intends through the campaign to strengthen the community’s experience by revitalizing areas that support events, partnerships and lifelong learning, and by renovating or expanding facilities such as Founders Hall to create more flexible and accessible areas.

The college, Coval said about prioritizing workforce innovation, “trains thousands of learners annually. This priority ensures we remain a workforce engine for the region by investing in equipment, technology and partnerships that prepare students for high-demand careers and meet evolving employer needs.”

The Pioneer Proud campaign ended in 2016 and exceeded its $5 million goal by raising $6,816,226 from more than 900 donors. The fundraising effort began in 2014, the year before BC3 was selected as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania for the first of what would be 11 times through 2025.

“It’s leadership,” Kelly said. “We’ve had tremendous leadership here. I have been blessed to interact with some of those who have led BC3 and they are very impressive. There is a lot of talent everywhere. It’s the talent that you put together that works for the same result that matters.

“I think they have had that here. It’s just part of their DNA. People say, ‘How do they keep doing it?’ And I say, “It’s because they never stop doing it.’”