UNION TWP, Lawrence County — Nick Neupauer, Butler County Community College president, announced Wednesday that the college received a grant from a national foundation to develop guitar manufacturing classes.

This grant from the National Science Foundation represents the first time the college is a lead agency on a major federal grant.

BC3 will get $231,000 over three years to focus on teaching advanced manufacturing through guitar making. Also involved in the grant are Purdue University, Sinclair Community College in Ohio, Ventura (Calif.) Community College and College of the Redwoods. The total amount of the three year grant is $900,000.

Professor Mike Aikens developed a course at the college to allow students to build a working guitar. This is the third year of the program at BC3.

The announcement happened at a meeting Wednesday of the board of trustees, which was at the BC3 @ Lawrence campus.

UNION TWP, Lawrence County — The finishing touches will be put on the renovation of the Pioneer Cafe at Butler County Community College.In June 2008, the college began work on its student union area with $500,000 in renovations to the kitchen area, which is in the lower level of Founders Hall.Now, the college is ready to go ahead with carpeting and seating area renovations. The contract was awarded Wednesday to R.A. Glancy & Sons of Gibsonia for $29,700.The contract was awarded during a meeting of the board of trustees at the BC3 @ Lawrence campus.