BC3 taps college affordability expert as interim president
Butler County Community College has tapped Megan M. Coval, a seasoned higher education expert with a knack for promoting college affordability, to serve as its interim president.
On Wednesday, the college’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Ms. Coval effective May 16, according to a news release from the college.
Her appointment follows the planned departure of longtime President Nick Neupauer, who announced in January that he will retire in December after 17 years at the Butler County school.
“It’s an incredible honor for me to serve in this interim position,” Ms. Coval said in a news release. “I feel very grateful that over my career I have had the opportunity to work in different areas of higher education. All of these experiences have in some way, shape or form been focused on access and affordability.”
Since 2021, Ms. Coval has served as executive director of BC3 Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that acquires and manages private funds to benefit the community college. In that role, she assisted in raising more than $7.5 million for the college, the news release says.
Prior to that, Ms. Coval worked in various leadership roles at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, a nonprofit organization that advocates for education accessibility regardless of socioeconomic status. She also served as the director of government relations for the U.S. Department of Education’s Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.
Mr. Neupauer said Ms. Coval has “extensive” experience at the state and national levels — but also acutely understands BC3’s role in the local community.
“That is needed by any person who is sitting as the president of an institution in our commonwealth,” Mr. Neupauer said in the release. “It is needed now more than ever.”
She will earn a salary of $178,000. Her position does not have an end date. That flexibility gives BC3 officials time to evaluate changes that Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to make in the state’s higher education system.
Earlier this year, Mr. Shapiro announced he would like to put the state’s community colleges and state universities under the same umbrella.
It’s a broad plan that would require a greenlight from legislators.
“What perhaps has magnified this presidential transition at Butler County Community College is the unknown impact of a new model for Pennsylvania’s community colleges,” BC3 board chair Joseph Kubit said in the release.
Mr. Kubit said college officials searched for an interim leader who was experienced in relationship management, higher education prowess and government relations. Ms. Coval’s “vast” experience secured her the top spot.
A Butler County native, Ms. Coval earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Allegheny College and her master’s degree in higher education administration from Penn State. She resides in Valencia with her husband and young children.
BC3 enrolled nearly 2,500 students at its six campuses in fall 2022, according to data from the Department of Education. Tuition at the college was $3,900 for Butler County residents during the 2023-24 academic year.