HARRISBURG - In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Community Colleges in Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell has proclaimed April as Community College Month in Pennsylvania.

According to Diane Bosak, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, the proclamation designating this honor was signed recently by the governor.

In addition, state Rep. James R. Roebuck, D-Philadelphia, was the prime sponsor of House Resolution 661, which was passed March 31 and also celebrates this significant anniversary.

These proclamations will be officially presented as part of the Commission's Annual Meeting Monday in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania's community colleges got their start with the signing of The Community College Act by Gov. William Scranton on Aug. 23, 1963. Butler County Community College opened its doors in 1966.

The proclamations recognize that "the 14 community colleges in Pennsylvania currently have enrolled more than 362,000 in their many diverse educational, cultural, and self-development programs and have educated more than 1.8 million Pennsylvanians over the past 40 years."