Assistant professor appointed to lead BC3 academic division featuring top transfer programs
An assistant professor at Butler County Community College who has conveyed her experiences as a former elementary school teacher to a generation of students pursuing a career in educating children will become leader of her academic division at BC3 on Aug. 1.
Stephanie Long, of Harrisville, has been appointed interim dean of a BC3 education and behavioral sciences division that offers two of the college’s most popular associate degree transfer programs, one of which will be enhanced with the debut of a simulated early and elementary school classroom.
Long succeeds Nichol Zaginaylo, who accepted a position with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
“The academic team at BC3 is excited about Stephanie moving into this interim role,” said Belinda Richardson, the college’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Stephanie has been an instrumental and creative leader in the division and her passion for students and higher education is inspiring.
“She brings to this position years of experience and accomplishments to match.”
The former teacher of elementary school pupils in Charlotte, N.C., and in Slippery Rock has been a BC3 faculty member since 2012. She earned both a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in elementary education: K-12 reading specialist from Slippery Rock University.
She has served as coordinator of BC3’s early childhood education (Pre K-4) transfer program since 2017 and of the college’s child development and family studies career program since 2020.
“I have a love for children,” Long said, “and for laying that foundation so that they can continue to grow and develop. In the higher ed capacity, I love instilling the joy of teaching in college students so that they can take it to their students. It’s a domino effect.”
Long’s interest in managing her division, she said, reflects “my passion for education, whether it’s in the classroom or in an administrative role. I believe in our faculty, and I believe in this college as an institution. I am excited to serve in a different capacity and to bring my expertise to the table.”
Long is a board member of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators, adviser of BC3’s early childhood learning club and den leader of a Cub Scout pack.
Education and behavioral sciences join business and information technology, liberal arts, the Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health and science, technology, engineering and mathematics as a BC3 academic division.
The college’s education and behavioral sciences division includes psychology, the top transfer program of graduates in BC3’s Class of 2024, and early childhood education (Pre K-4), which was fifth, according to Sharla Anke, BC3’s dean of institutional research and planning.
The division also includes transfer programs in health and physical education-teacher education; physical education-physical activity and fitness management; physical education-sport management option; secondary education with English and social studies options; and social work.
The division also includes career programs in park and recreation management with general and park law enforcement options.
Instruction of students in the college’s early childhood education (Pre K-4) program will be enriched with the spring 2025 opening of the Dr. Robert L. Paserba Education Teaching and Learning Lab on the college’s main campus in Butler Township, Long said.
The lab’s immersive learning environment will follow that created within the state-of-the-art Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building, which opened in August 2023 on BC3’s main campus and affords students with hands-on experience through simulated intensive care-unit and patient rooms.
The 1,735-square-foot Paserba lab’s centerpiece will replicate an elementary school classroom and allow for students to experiment with lesson plans, desk groupings and material layouts, according to BC3 administrators and faculty members.
“The lab will lend itself to even more authentic experiences for our education majors,” Long said. “It’s going to be designed like a real elementary classroom. When students take what they are learning from us into a classroom, they will be one step ahead of the game because they are going to know exactly what they need to do.”
Construction of the lab is being funded by a $200,000 gift to the BC3 Education Foundation from the Paserba family.
