Butler County Community College opened the Amy W. Wise Children’s Creative Learning Center on Tuesday, the first day of the spring semester.

The center is a state-licensed preschool and child care center for children of BC3 students, employees and the public. The center is also a resource for academic programs on campus, including nursing and early childhood education.

The center was expanded and renovated using a $1 million donation from John L. Wise III and family and a $1 million state capital grant match.

Wise, vice president and secretary of Eagle Printing, made the donation on behalf of his late sister, Amy W. Wise.

“There was a lot of excitement from parents and kids,” Brian Opitz, BC3 executive director of operations, said about Tuesday’s opening.

Amy Wise was dedicated to her career in teaching. From 1994 to 2012, she was the head teacher at Poker Hill School in Underhill, Vt.

Her teaching experience included the Community College of Vermont and Trinity College. In 2006 she was awarded the Vermont Governor’s Award for Outstanding Community Service.

The center is a Keystone Star 4 Facility, the highest licensing rating given by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Amy Wise also had a talent for instilling a love of nature in young students.

In October 2015, BC3 dedicated an outdoor nature classroom named Green Garden Park by the learning center children. Located behind the center, Green Garden Park was partially funded by the Alcoa Foundation and earned national certification as a Nature Explore Classroom from Dimensions Educational Research Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation.