BC3 president chosen for award
Butler County Community College President Nick Neupauer is the recipient of the Phi Theta Kappa international academic honor society’s highest award.
Neupauer will travel to Kansas City, Mo., to receive the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction during the society’s centennial celebration April 20.
“I’m honored. I was really surprised and honored that I was nominated by people here at the college,” Neupauer said. “It’s a very prestigious award. It’s a national and international award.”
The college is trying to make arrangement for members of Rho Phi, BC3’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa, to attend, he said.
Rho Phi received Phi Theta Kappa’s highest rating of five stars last year and BC3 student Maizee Zaccone, a chapter member, was named the first Pennsylvania New Century Scholar in the college’s history in 2016.
“When Maizee won this award, she was considered the best community college student in Pennsylvania from the best community college, collectively now the best community college for a second consecutive year,” Neupauer said. “We’re getting accolades across the board.”
The award recognizes Neupauer’s commitment to BC3’s academic honor society and resolve to foster student success and empowerment, said Pattie Van Atter, coordinator of Phi Theta Kappa’s Middle States Region that includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington and to which Rho Phi belongs.
“Dr. Neupauer is one of the most supportive college presidents that I know,” she said.
Neupauer’s nomination stemmed from Rho Phi’s five star nomination, which was judged at the international level, Van Ater said.
Chris Slay, 36, of Butler, a BC3 student and Rho Phi chapter president, said Neupauer supports the chapter.
“You might tend to think of college presidents as being unapproachable. And he is about as approachable as you can get,” she said.
“Dr. Neupauer has been a huge part of our success,” said Tarah Schmidt, vice president of Rho Phi in 2017, when it reached a five-star status after being designated as a zero-star chapter in 2011. “Quite frankly, I don’t think we could have gotten to a five-star status without him, because he was a big part of our Honors in Action project.”
Rho Phi’s Honors in Action projects included developing a stress-busters week before finals in 2016, raising awareness about mental health issues in 2017 to this spring and created a video addressing the opioid epidemic in Western Pennsylvania.
Rho Phi has 172 members at BC3’s main campus, other locations, online student body and its College Within the High School/College Pathways program.
Phi Theta Kappa has 3.2 million members in 10 nations and the award Neupauer is receiving is named after the society’s longest-serving board chairman.
