BUTLER TWP — When new friends ask Butler County Community College President Cynthia Azari about the college, she mentions the tree-shaded campus.

When they ask about the region, she describes perogies as boiled potato pies for which she never acquired a taste.

And, she tells them about one of the first things she learned after relocating here.

"In football season, if you weren't in black and gold, you were in trouble," she said.

It's good, then, that the man taking over her office at the end of the month when Azari leaves for Fresno, Calif., will redecorate it with photographs from Pittsburgh Steelers games.

Nick Neupauer has boxes packed for his move from the vice president of academic affairs office to the opposite end of the Administration Building hallway where a "President" sign will hang above his door.

Among the last items he's packing are crayon drawings from his children, a family tree made by his oldest daughter, and plaques preserving moments of Steelers victories.

"I don't want to just be a Steeler fan; I want to be the biggest Steeler fan," Neupauer said.

But, he said, that's not just a motto he applies to the professional sports team he once covered as a newspaper reporter. It applies to his every role.

He wants to be the best father he can be to his two elementary-aged daughters, the best husband he can be to his wife, Tammy, and the best president the college has ever had.

Azari to head west

Azari, whose last day is July 31, is also packing, both at her office and at her home.

After five years in the college's top post, she's returning to the West Coast to be vice chancellor of the State CenterCommunity College District in Fresno. She will be in charge of operations at two colleges and three learning centers with 32,000 students.

Here, she has been in charge of 3,500 students at BC3's main campus and its Cranberry Township and Lawrence County locations along with its $21.3 million budget.

In California the state is more involved in policies and tuition than in Pennsylvania.

Her new position won't be totally alien to her, though.

"Community is your middle name," she said.

She said all community colleges need to be connected to the residents. She added that students anywhere usually fit the profile of working people trying to make better lives.

When she was chosen through a national search to come to BC3 from Olympic College in Bremerton, Wash., she was the first woman and the first Mexican-American to take the position. The pressure of those distinctions won't be present in Fresno, where about 40 percent of the population is Hispanic and there have been past female presidents.

But, still she expects to be in the spotlight.

When she goes to the grocery store, she knows she's representing the college even if she's arguing about the price of bananas. It's something she's commiserated about with Butler Mayor Maggie Stock, and what she called the toughest part of the job.

She said Neupauer, who she's mentored since he was promoted to the vice president position in 2004, is ready to do the job. But, she said she doesn't know if he fully understands the community obligations and scrutiny that come with it.

A fork in the road

Neupauer agrees he's ready for the job. Even as one of the youngest presidents in BC3 history, at 40, he's had a varied career in academia.

It was one he never saw coming, though.

After graduating fromLincoln HighSchool in Ellwood City, he went to Penn State to study journalism. At the Beaver County Times, he covered high school sports, the only part of being a reporter he misses, and, from 1989 to 1990, the Steelers.

But he realized the life of late-night deadlines and weekend games wasn't ideal for raising a family.

He thought sports was still his niche, though. So, he went to Clarion University and studied communication to be a sports information director. After he finished that master's degree, he applied at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago for a position.

"I thought for sure I'd end up doing something in sports," he said.

At, the same time, he applied to West Virginia University's doctorate communications program and told his future wife they would head to the place that called him first.

On a Monday afternoon, WVU accepted him. Fifteen minutes later he got the call from Chicago. He looks at that moment and his decision to go to Morgantown as one of those proverbial forks in the road.

But he said he's glad he took the path he did.

He taught communications classes at WVU, Bethany College and Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. While he was there, he learned his father had terminal lung cancer.

Looking for a way to get closer to his hometown, in 1999 he applied to be the dean of humanities and social sciences at BC3. One year later, his father, Nick, died.

He's stayed at his Slippery Rock Township home, close to his mother, Patty, who lives in Elwood City.

Even after his promotion to vice president, he still teaches a course or two on reporting or public relations each year.

He said teaching helps him stay aware of the concerns the 191 full-time employees. He grew up hearing the steelworkers around him complain about their bosses. He doesn't want to be talked about that way.

The Neupauer way

To keep himself humble, he reads a quote from Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue.

Paterno said, "I looked in the mirror one day and asked my wife, 'How many great coaches do you think there are?'

"One less than you think,"she replied.

He also each day reads a notecard with a quote that reminds him trustworthiness breeds trustworthiness.

He vows during his tenure as president, which he hopes will be long, to run a transparent administration. People might not always agree with his decisions, he said, but he hopes to gain respect by always providing the rationale for his decisions.

He wants to assume the post with ambition and do his best.

"There will be nothing I do that isn't for the betterment of the college," he said.

He doesn't doubt in his first year, everything will be a new challenge, but the executive cabinet is behind him, he said. And, Azari promises to be just an e-mail away.

She expects to hear from Neupauer when he wants advice and she'll be glad to give it.

But right now, Azari is looking for advice on ways to downsize the items she's accumulated since she moved here. She's already made eight trips to Goodwill with household items she's not hauling to California.

And, does anyone want some black and gold sweaters? It doesn't snow in Fresno.