We would like to extend a warm Butler County welcome to Megan Coval who was recently hired as the executive director of the Butler County Community College Education Foundation and to commend BC3 on its expansive national search that led to Coval’s hiring.

The local community college recently hired Coval, who is a 2001 Butler Area Senior High School graduate and Center Township native, to replace Ruth Purcell, who retired in December after a decade in the position.

Coval had been the vice president of policy and federal relations for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators most recently.

Before that, she worked in higher education as an admissions counselor at Penn State University and then served as director of government relations for the U.S. Department of Education’s Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.

Coval earned a master’s degree in higher education administration from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Allegheny College.

In her new role at BC3, Coval will be responsible for acquiring and managing private resources for the benefit of BC3.

It’s a big job, as BC3 has been the beneficiary of six pledged contributions of $1 million since 2014. The foundation’s assets sit at just less than $25 million.

Further, the BC3 Education Foundation will award more than $200,000 in named scholarships in the 2021-22 academic year to students who are either attending BC3’s main campus or one of its additional campuses.

And it seems Coval has just the experience to take on such a task.

In her position at NASFAA, she oversaw the organization’s government relations, policy and grant work, and led its advocacy efforts to secure $77 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding for postsecondary institutions and students.

She has the background needed for such a role, and her ties back to the area, well, that’s the icing on the cake.

As a native to Butler County, part of Coval’s incentive to take the role, seems an opportunity to be closer to family. She is the mother to two girls, ages 4 and 2.

Again, we commend BC3 on its extensive search that led to an experienced hire with connections to the community here. It’s crucial that such an expansive and detailed search happen for such a crucial role.

We wish Coval all the best in her new role at BC3.

— TAL