Bucks
Bucks Community College Perkasie
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Last week, the opening of the Upper Bucks branch of the Community College was a stunning affair. Several hundred attended the ribbon cutting of the 28,000 square foot addition costing $15 million. Situated on 14 acres, it doubles the size of the East Rockhill Township facility.
“It is a LEED-certified “green” building, meaning that it meets the highest standards for energy efficiency,” the program notes explained. “The project also includes extensive renovations of the existing 33,000-square foot facility, which has seen enrollment surge from 150 students when the campus opened in 1999 to more than 1,000 students today. The expanded campus features a geothermal heating and cooling system and a vegetation-covered roof to reduce storm water runoff.”
At capacity, the Upper Bucks campus will accommodate 2,000 students, about the same as the Lower Bucks campus in Bristol. Annually, approximately 10,000 credit students and 20,000 non-credit students are enrolled at one of the college’s three-campuses in Newtown, Bristol, and East Rockhill.
The Community College has been a tremendous success story. More than 200,000 students have used the college as a gateway to higher education since 1964 when it began on the Tyler Estate in Newtown Township.
Two years later, I succeeded John Justus Bodley on the Bucks board of Commissioners. Bodley had become a judge and the Court of Common Pleas chose me to complete his term…to the absolute surprise of everyone. I was only 31.
I remember the college’s first President, Dr. Charles Rollins, a tall, silver haired, good looking administrator who led the institution during its formative years. Last week, I enjoyed seeing Otto Grupp at the ribbon cutting. He’s still on the board of Trustees as he was in the 1960’s.
Dr. James Linksz assumed the college presidency in 1992. He acknowledged Gene Fickes for his generosity and leadership at the Upper Bucks campus. The Fickes Art Center was named for the Deep Run businessman. Several yearly scholarships are tied to the Fickes name.
The seeds for an upper and lower bucks community college presence actual began during the late 1960’s. Joseph Canby, Walter Farley and I were the County Commissioners. Canby was content with the Newtown campus and didn’t want to think about college expansion. Besides, Dr. Rollins had his hands full with his new position. After all, the college was just four years old. I think that Bucks was the first community college in Pennsylvania.
But I had an ally in Walter Farley, the Democratic Commissioner from Middletown Township in Lower Bucks. He realized that there would be a need to expand the college some day. We convinced each other that having sites at the north and south ends of Bucks County would make the community college a truly countywide institution.
So, in 1969, Farley joined me in laying plans for an Upper Bucks campus. We chose the Bleam farm on California Road bordering on Quakertown and Richland Township. As I recall, the land approximated 100 acres and ran from California Road to the railroad in downtown Quakertown.
Farley’s and my dream would not come to fruition for 40 years. The commissioners who followed us didn’t see the land’s potential and used the site for the James Michener Library instead. The commissioners finally sold the property to the borough of Quakertown, which used the tract to expand its park system.
Quakertown had one last chance to convince the college to choose the borough for an Upper Bucks location. But Quakertown picked the abandoned Krupp Foundry as its calling card. Quakertown was unable to convince the county commissioners and the college trustees that the site could be made safe from the hazards of industrial waste.
Time simply ran out.
In the meantime, Independence Bank Corp, the successor to the Bucks County Bank and Trust Company, had merged with Core States [later First Union, Wachovia, and, finally, Wells Fargo]. Its headquarters in the Glenwood Shopping Center in East Rockhill was vacant and gathering dust. It made sense to convert the property for college use.
The good news is that Upper Bucks has a Bucks County Community college presence. It’s impressive. And Quakertown was able to add nearly 100 acres to its park and recreation program.
Prior to the ribbon cutting, county, state, and federal officials mingled with the college representatives and the crowd. Congressman Patrick Murphy reminded us that his college career began at the Bucks Community College 19 years ago.
“The ultimate solution to America’s problems is education,” Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley said.
It was interesting to see these two politicians on the same dais. As a Democrat, Murphy will be on the November ballot as he seeks reelection to congress. Cawley may appear on the Republican ballot if he wins the primary for the Lt. Governor position.
State Representative Paul Clymer added that the community college students are not just teenagers. “They include students from 18 to well into the 60’s,” he told the crowd.
Christine Crotty is a student leader at the college and a Quakertown High School grad ‘06. “This place is a home away from home for me,” she said. “We finally have a space all our own.”
President Linksz summed up the event nicely. “Three campuses serve our diverse community, providing education when and where needed,” he wrote in the letter to the community. “Our expansion projects allow both closer commutes and increased programming in all parts of our community. 95 percent of our students are from Bucks County and will stay or return to our community.
“Our faculty and staff are second to none,” he added. “All we need is a little extra help as we seek to respond to the growing demands on our abilities.”
Friends, it was a great day to be a Bucks Countian.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith