BC3 @ Armstrong to be named for Jeff Pyle
BUTLER TWP — Butler County Community College administrators said Wednesday, March 15 that the new facility in Ford City, BC3 @ Armstrong, will be named after the late state Rep. Jeff Pyle.
Pyle, who served in the House from 2005 to 2021, died in September 2022 after battling cancer, and was “instrumental” in getting the facility off the ground, according to Megan Coval, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation.
Students transitioned Monday, March 13 from taking classes in the old building in Manor Township to the new $6.5 million Ford City facility, which is on the site of the former Ford City Junior-Senior High School. The campus is a single-story facility with four classrooms, a multipurpose room, a natural science laboratory, student meeting space and staff and faculty offices.
BC3 President Nick Neupauer credited Pyle for supporting the college’s expansion in Armstrong County.
At the groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 24, 2021, Pyle said BC3 has been a great supplier for the local workforce, according to the Butler Eagle. He said he had spoken with Neupauer on multiple occasions to tell him what kind of positions need to be filled in the Armstrong County area and beyond.
“I need this, I need that,” Pyle had said. “BC3 excels at identifying emerging job fields, and they will continue to do that.”
Neupauer said completing the project through private donations totaling more than $6.6 million was unprecedented. He said help from state officials such as Pyle helped spread the word about the impact that money would make on workforce education.
“It’s just absolutely remarkable,” Neupauer said Wednesday at a meeting of the college’s council of trustees.
Brian Opitz, executive director of operations for BC3, said he heard students at the new campus express good feelings about moving from the old building.
Coval said there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new campus at 3 p.m. April 12.
“We will be honoring (Pyle), and we are also working on a nice plaque that will be right when you enter the building,” Coval said.
