New BC3 Lawrence location part of school’s future
Butler County Community College faces enrollment decline, worries over education funding and a changing landscape for higher education.
In the face of it all, the college is framing its new Lawrence County building as setting itself up for the future.
At BC3 @ Lawrence’s grand opening for the new building at Shenango Commons in New Castle on Wednesday, July 16, college leaders touted the new facility as aligning with future needs and enrollment trends.
“One of the hallmarks of community colleges is our ability to be nimble and responsive to the needs of our communities. That does not happen in isolation, and today really is a testament to that quality,” Josh Novak, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, said. “Picking up and moving a location to better position both our institution and the community for community impact was no small feat.”
The Shenango Commons building replaces BC3’s previous Lawrence County location, BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing near New Castle Municipal Airport.
The new building is smaller and les expensive than the previous location. Jake Friel, BC3’s vice president for administration and finance, said its previous Lawrence County location was about 25,000 square feet, while the new space is around 8,000.
He also said it costs only about half of what the previous building did. It was previously reported BC3 will pay $160,955 annually for the first five years in the facility and $182,095 annually for the sixth through 10th years in the building.
Friel said the new building “is a perfect fit” that, in addition to being much newer, matches with the college’s enrollment realities in the future.
“Our lease was expiring, it was 25,000 square feet, and we didn’t need 25,000 square feet. So we searched for a facility that matched our new enrollment reality, which is going to be a little smaller,” Friel said. “So you’re looking at about 8,000 square feet here, with the possibility to grow to 12,000 square feet. We have access to additional space we’re not developing yet.”
At its peak, BC3 @ Lawrence had an enrollment of around 550 in 2011. Current enrollment at the campus is around 100.
With an eye on current and future trends for the college and higher education, BC3 has made multiple changes in recent months.
At the grand opening, Megan Coval, president of BC3, pitched the new campus as an opportunity to embrace change. She emphasized the importance of responding to the changing nature of higher education, meeting needs of students in tangible ways.
At the grand opening ceremony, BC3 leaders focused on things like community and business partnerships, the need for economic development and providing affordable education as reasons for maintaining its presence in Lawrence County.
Ben Bush, CEO of the Forward Lawrence Chamber and Economic Alliance, said during his speech an educated workforce is vital to economic development in Lawrence County and elsewhere, and keeping quality and affordable education accessible is an important reason to ensure BC3 remains “as an asset in the community for generations to come.”
“It took a while for us to get here. From our first conversations surrounding the uncertainty in higher education funding and at the state, the changing landscape of higher education in general after the pandemic and the population decline in Western Pennsylvania. But one thing that was clear to me is BC3, it’s partnership with the community and the services it provides had to be maintained,” Bush said.
Coval said at the end of the grand opening ceremony BC3’s vision statement has a strong emphasis on community ties and the new space at Shenango Commons, through its classes and community partnerships, will help enhance the quality of life of its students by continuing to provide a “good, quality education.”
“It’s about more than opening a new location. It’s about reimagining what higher education access can look like,” Coval said.
