Megan Coval’s endeavors in the higher education field have regularly included advocating for the needs of schools, including community colleges.

Coval, who grew up by the Clearview Mall, is excited to serve in her new role, back in her hometown as president of Butler County Community College.

With the school’s 60th anniversary of its creation at hand, she looks to serve BC3 as a president focused on the school’s future, providing continued access to affordable education to Butler County residents.

“For me, there’s such a connection, having grown up here and having been a part of this community; and for me it’s a huge honor to be able to serve in this position,” Coval said. “I care a lot about higher education and access to it, and to be here back home doing that is wonderful.”

Coval, who was the interim president since May of 2024, was unanimously named BC3’s ninth president at its March 19 board of trustees meeting. Her contract will last four years, the annual base salary is set at $215,000.

When she was appointed to the position, Coval received praise from both the board of trustees, as well as her predecessor, Nick Neupauer.

“I believe it is one of the best decisions any board of trustees has made,” Neupauer said after Coval’s appointment to president. “Megan is the right person at the right time to lead this wonderful institution.”

Coval sees various external factors impacting higher education in America at once. She believes BC3 stands out, remaining committed to quality, affordable and accessible education. It’s something she wants to continue, noting 70% of students graduate debt free.

“We are a sector, as a community college, that’s able to, even through all of those challenges, maintain that commitment, that we are going to be affordable, but we are also going to continue to prioritize quality,” she said.

Before her time at BC3, Coval served in a wide range of higher education roles. She was an admissions counselor at Penn State, before holding positions based in Washington, D.C.

She served as vice president for policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and as director of government relations for the U.S. Department of Education’s Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.

She describes her roles as dealing with topics like student aid policy; loans and debt; government relations and lobbying. She was a conduit between lawmakers on Capitol Hill and colleges, advocating for policies benefiting students and increasing access and affordability to higher education.

“I’ve had a pretty unique experience within higher education, and I’ve only ever worked in higher education,” Coval said. “I started as an admissions counselor at Penn State, that was my first job on campus. And then I really moved from there to Washington, D.C., and worked in the policy arena, but still in higher education, so that really gave me the perspective of how policy is made and developed around higher education in this country.”

Coval was hired to be executive director of BC3’s education foundation in 2021, and eventually held the temporary role of interim president. BC3 lauded her on its website for her work with the education foundation, helping raise millions of dollars in private contributions for construction of the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building.

The board of trustees expressed its confidence in Coval when it hired her.

“During the period that Megan has served as interim president, she has consistently impressed the trustees,” board chairman Joseph Kubit said. “There is truly no part of this role in which she did not shine. The board did not see any benefit to the college or to Megan by delaying offering her the position of president.”

Coval admits right now is a challenging time for all colleges, regardless of type.

One big challenge that BC3 faces, according to Coval, is changing demographics. Especially in Pennsylvania, this is an issue Coval says other schools are dealing with, as schools nationwide have faced an “enrollment cliff” over the years. It is an issue BC3 is swimming upstream against.

“It’s a challenging time for higher education as an industry, and it has been for quite some time,” Coval said. “There’s a lot of things at work there. One of the big things is that we’re seeing a big shift in demographics. If you’re looking at 18 year-olds, traditional students, and of course we serve students of all different ages and all different walks of life, there’s just not as many of them.”

Coval also recognized the unique position Butler County is in, having seen population growth over the past several years. She said as president, she and the college will have to pay attention to changes in population, as well as projections for the future and how it could impact enrollment.

But she said the need to adapt comes with an opportunity to think about enrollment strategies. Coval floated working with other colleges and partnering with businesses in ways that “allow us to do what we do best, and allow them to do what they do best.”

One area where Coval is going to push for is the increase in dual enrollment, where students can take classes and receive college credits while still in high school. Coval hopes to engage high school students in Butler County, whether they end up at BC3 or elsewhere after high school. Coval’s hope is that it opens the door for more students.

“We have a presence in some of our high schools now and we’re looking to grow in that area,” Coval said. “What’s nice about that is it gives students some exposure to BC3 in high school but the other, bigger picture is, my hope at least, is we can get to a point where we can expand dual enrollment and students who thought college is not for them take a duel enrollment course in high school and realize, ‘hey, I could do this.’”

The upkeep of existing campus buildings is something else Coval will have to address in her newly official position.

Coval said with the college coming off a decade of some pretty big capital projects, the organization is going to be focused on “looking at buildings we have,” focusing on upkeep and modernization of buildings that have been there all 60 years of its existence.

As BC3’s president, Coval will also have to tap into her previous experiences advocating on behalf of BC3 during budget processes.

In the midst of potential abolishment of the Department of Education, Coval said she and the college are always keeping an eye on the federal level, staying up to date on what is happening there. Beyond that, with the college receiving county and state funds, she emphasized the importance of continued engagement with the state when advocating for community college funding.

“Really making sure lawmakers understand that what we do as an institution, sharing with them why we are a worthy investment for the state to make,” Coval said.

Coval feels ingrained here. She knows Butler and feels connected to the community. She wants BC3 to continue it’s close connection to the community as well.

Coval looks to further connect the college with other community leaders and continue establishing partnerships.

“I love a whole lot of things about this job, and that’s one of the things that is at the top of that list, is how ingrained BC3 is in the community, and I certainly have an opportunity in my job to be connected to a lot of people and organizations, and K through 12 schools,” she said.