Bucks County Community College

Type	Public community college
Established	1964; 62 years ago (1964)
President	Patrick M. Jones, Ph.D.[1]
Faculty	618
Students	4,119 full time 5,530 part time
Location	Newtown, Perkasie, Bristol , Pennsylvania , USA 40°14′21″N 74°57′58″W / 40.2392°N 74.9661°W / 40.2392; -74.9661
Campus	Suburban
Website	www.bucks.edu

Bucks County Community College (Bucks) is a public community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1964, Bucks has three campuses and online courses: a main campus in Newtown, an "Upper Bucks" campus in the town of Perkasie, and a "Lower Bucks" campus in the town of Bristol. There are also various satellite facilities located throughout the county. The college offers courses via face-to-face classroom-based instruction, eLearning classes offered completely online (often referred to as distance learning), and in hybrid (blended) modes that combine face-to-face instruction with online learning. The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.^[2]

History

The main Newtown campus is located on a former estate that Bucks County acquired in very early 1965 from Temple University, which had inherited it from Stella Elkins Tyler, a wealthy benefactor, only two years before. The George F. Tyler Mansion houses administrative offices.^[3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.^[4]

In 1968, about 200 students participated in a protest after the president of the college canceled a planned speech by gay rights activist Dick Leitsch. It is notable as one of only two gay rights protests to occur on a college campus prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots.^[5]

Locations

Bucks has three campuses and also offers online classes.^[6]

Newtown

Newtown Campus is the oldest and largest campus, and is located at 275 Swamp Road in Newtown, Pennsylvania – directly adjacent to Tyler State Park.

Facilities include: library, computer labs, science labs, teleconference center, art studios and workshops, TV studios, auditorium, early learning center, fitness center, gymnasium, cafeteria, and café.^[7]

Zlock Performing Arts Center

In October 2014, the Gateway Auditorium would be renamed in honor of local philanthropists Kevin and Sima Zlock.^[8]

Academics

Bucks offers over 90 academic programs within 7 schools, including 43 associate degree programs designed to transfer to a four-year institution for the completion of a Bachelor's Degree. There are also 23 occupational associate degree programs and 27 certificate programs, both designed to prepare students to directly enter the workforce in a variety of disciplines.^[11] The schools at the college include:

• Business & Legal Studies^[11] Business Administration, Culinary Arts, Paralegal, and Accounting & Analytics programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).^[12]
• Health Sciences^[13]
• Kinesiology & Sport Studies^[14]
• Language & Literature
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics^[15]
• Social & Behavioral Sciences^[16]
• Visual & Performing Arts

The School of Language & Literature also hosts the Wordsmiths Series,^[17] and is the home of the Tyler Literary Society's Literary magazine now in its 31st year.^[18]

Students can take advantage of transfer agreements with four-year institutions to complete their Bachelor's Degree, including many dual enrollment agreements with nearby colleges and universities.^[19]

Continuing Education

The Continuing Education Department offers classes for Personal Enrichment and Professional Development.^[20]

Alumni

Some notable graduates include Steve Capus,^[25] Anthony Fedorov,^[26] Patrick Murphy^[27] and Terri Schiavo.^[28]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bucks County Community College.

• Official website
• Athletics website