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Bucks County Community College Authorized to Open Municipal Police Academy
Bucks County Community College has moved a step closer to opening a police training academy following a crucial vote by a state commission, College officials announced.
On September 11, the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) voted unanimously to establish a new police academy in Bucks County. Although the initiative is in its early stages, the commission’s vote supports opening the academy at Bucks County Community College, which has campuses in Bristol, Newtown, and Perkasie.
“We are pleased that our application has taken the next step toward bringing vital law enforcement training to Bucks County,” said Bucks County Community College President & CEO Patrick M. Jones. “It’s notable that our initiative received letters of support from all three Bucks County Commissioners, all 13 members of our state legislative delegation, the police chiefs of Bucks County, and the Bucks County Sheriff.”
The concept was initially raised by faculty in the College’s criminal justice program, according to Dr. Samantha Gross, dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
“The idea of having a police academy at our college is something that’s always been on the radar of our criminal justice faculty,” noted Gross. “Several of them are former police officers and made us aware of the opportunity to apply. We worked as a team on the application, and our faculty’s knowledge and expertise were indispensable throughout the process.”
Those faculty members included Professor Robert J. Ritchie, Dr. Robert F. Ritchie, Professor Al Sigafoos, and Professor Sarah Jakub, Gross added.
The municipal police academy will offer the state’s Act 120 basic police officer training, a comprehensive, mandatory, 919-hour program designed to prepare an individual for certification to become a police officer within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, according to Gross, adding that both full- and part-time training schedules are planned.
The academy will be housed at the Newtown Campus, where there is ample classroom space and facilities. The nearest such training facilities are currently in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
MPOETC, which establishes the minimum curriculum and training standards for municipal police officers, also approved Luzerne County Community College’s application to establish a police academy to serve northeastern Pennsylvania.
Bucks County Community College's Tutors Meet the 'Gold Standard'
Bucks County Community College, which offers students free tutoring through its Academic Success Center, has retained the highest level of tutor training certification from the internationally recognized College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA).
The Academic Success Center has been renewed for all three levels of certification that the CRLA provides – basic, advanced, and master. Each level requires a minimum of 10 hours of training, 25 hours of tutoring, and a demanding evaluation process to ensure the demonstrated success of each skill covered in the training level. The peer-review certification process checks that the CRLA’s high standards are met for tutor selection, training, direct service, and evaluation as an integral part of the overall tutoring program.
“The CRLA’s International Tutor Training Program Certification is considered the gold standard in the field of learning support,” explained Lauren Humphries, the center’s director. “It confirms that our Academic Success Center meets internationally recognized high standards and rigorous training, allowing us to provide the highest quality support to students across the institution.”
It is rare for a community college to earn all three levels because of the time commitment required – it typically takes a minimum of 18 months for a tutor to achieve master level certification, Humphries noted. The center earned CRLA certification for basic and advanced levels in 2010, added the master level in 2015, and has been re-certified for all three levels every five years ever since then.
The Academic Success Center offers tutoring on each campus at Newtown, Perkasie and Bristol, as well as online. Last year, the center’s 80 tutors served nearly 2,200 students who made nearly 13,500 visits. "The team in the Academic Success Center is committed to excellence and the continuous improvement of the services we provide to students,” said Humphries. “We strive to provide top quality academic support, and this certification recognizes our efforts to remain a leader in the field of learning assistance."
Jacqueline Burger, dean of Learning Resources and Bucks Online, said this recognition affirms that Bucks students receive the highest quality academic assistance, and it highlights the center’s leadership within the field of learning support.
“I am so proud of the Academic Success Center team for earning this rare and prestigious renewal,” said Burger. “Achieving all three levels of CRLA certification demonstrates their exceptional commitment to excellence in tutor training and student support.”
For more than thirty years, CRLA has been a leader in learning assistance, reading, and academic support programs with almost 1,300 members and over 2,000 certified training programs worldwide.
The CRLA certification is another example of the high-quality education available at Bucks County Community College, which opened its doors as an open-admission public college 60 years ago this month and is consistently ranked as one of the top community colleges in the state.
Photo: Jacqueline Burger, Bucks County Community College’s dean of Learning Resources and Bucks Online, is shown with Lauren Humphries, director of the Academic Success Center, and Abigail Aldrich, assistant director, at the center’s Newtown Campus location. The center has recently retained the highest level of tutor training certification from the internationally recognized College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). (PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Parker, Bucks County Community College).
Learn About Compassion for Animals and the Environment
Bucks County Community College invites the public to the annual Compassion for Animals and Environment (CAE) conference from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, September 27, at the Newtown Campus.
Sponsored by the College’s School of Business, Innovation, and Legal Studies, the CAE is the only conference whose goals are to respect animals' emotions and intelligence; increase reliance on plant-based foods; be kind to Earth, its inhabitants, and ourselves; and strengthen the human-animal bond.
The conference features speakers who are prominent leaders in animal welfare, rescue, science, law, and social justice. The program includes:
“Vegan for Earth’s Climate and Habitats” with speaker Lee Hall
“Strengthening the Human-Animal Bond Within the Context of Horseracing” with Patrick Battuello of Horseracing Wrongs
“Pet Loss: Honoring Your Bond and Healing from Grief” with Jenna Tarrant, LCSW
“The Untold Truth: Backyard Chickens” with Suzanne Gonzalez from Pennsylvania Voters for Animals
Cheryl Baldi of the Volta Writing Center presenting an original poem
Attendees can also learn from a myriad of exhibitors who share the conference goals, such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania-Delaware House Rabbit Society, the Bucks County SPCA, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, Tabby’s Place, Indraloka Animal Sanctuary, Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and more.
The $30 registration fee includes a vegan boxed lunch by V-Spot Restaurant, cookies from Fat Badger Bakery, and a donation to an animal rescue organization. The student registration fee is $18 and there are scholarships available. Register online by September 20.
The conference takes place in the Gallagher Room, located in the Rollins Center building on the campus at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa., 18940. Parking is free. To learn more about the conference, and to inquire about student scholarships, please contact Chris Simcox at chris.simcox@bucks.edu.
Public Invited to Art Show Receptions at Bristol, Perkasie Campuses
Bucks County Community College, which has been cultivating creativity for 60 years, invites the public to the opening receptions of art exhibitions at the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks and at the Upper Bucks Campus.
At the Gallery at Lower Bucks, located at the Epstein Campus in Bristol Township, “Ebb and Flow” features art that depicts the natural rhythm of life as experienced through highs and lows, ups and downs, fluctuations, and fluidity. The show runs from September 15 to December 11. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 19, at the campus at 1304 Veterans Highway, Bristol.
Meanwhile, art lovers are invited to the “Show of Shows” at the Fickes Gallery from September 22 to October 31 at the Upper Bucks Campus. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 26. The Fickes Gallery is located in the lower level of the North Building on the campus at One Hillendale Drive, Perkasie.
The Fickes Gallery is accepting submissions from the artistic community to be considered for the “Show of Shows” through September 17. Each artist may submit up to three pieces of original art for sale with a $20 fee to enter. The artist prospectus can be found on the Fickes Gallery page. For more information contact the Upper Bucks Campus at ubc@bucks.edu or call 215-258-7700.
Admission to all galleries and receptions is free. All artwork is for sale, with 25% of each sale benefiting scholarships for Bucks County Community College students.
Finally, there’s still time to catch “The Faculty Emeriti Arts Exhibition” on the Newtown Campus. Various works by 27 retired professors and administrators from 1965 to 2025 are shown throughout the Hicks Art Center, including recent and historic works that have never been exhibited in public before. The show runs through October 25 on the campus at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown.
Wordsmiths Reading Series Features Two Award-Winning Authors
Bucks County Community College, which has a 60-year history of bringing world-renowned authors to Newtown, invites the public to hear authors Jennifer Tseng and Amy Small-McKinney read from their works on Friday, September 26 as part of its ongoing Wordsmiths Reading Series. The free event takes place at 7:30 p.m. in Tyler Hall on the Newtown Campus, and will be followed by a book-signing and reception.
Jennifer Tseng, a poet and fiction writer, was born in Indiana and raised in California by a first-generation Chinese immigrant engineer and a third-generation German-American microbiologist. Her flash fiction collection “The Passion of Woo & Isolde” (Rose Metal Press 2017) was a Firecracker Award Finalist and winner of an Eric Hoffer Book Award. Her novel “Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness” (Europa Editions 2015) was shortlisted for the PEN American Center's Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction and the New England Book Award. She's also the author of four award-winning poetry books, including her most recent “Thanks for Letting Us Know You Are Alive” published by University of Massachusetts Press in 2024. Tseng is serving as the final judge for the 2025 Bucks County Poet Laureate competition, administered by the College.
Amy Small-McKinney is the author of six books of poetry. Her newest book “& You Think It Ends” was released in March by Glass Lyre Press. Her second full-length book of poems “Walking Toward Cranes” (Glass Lyre Press, 2016), won the Kithara Book Prize.
The Wordsmiths Reading Series is another way that Bucks County Community College connects the community with the region’s vibrant literary heritage. The College – which was founded in 1964 and opened its doors the following year – has a long history of hosting literary greats, including poet Allen Ginsberg and many award-winning authors.
The Wordsmiths Reading Series, which is free and open to the public, is funded by the College’s Cultural Affairs Committee. To learn more, visit the Wordsmiths page on the Bucks website or contact the School of Language & Literature at langandlit@bucks.edu or 215-968-8150.
Bucks County Community College is located at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa., 18940, where there is ample free parking. For a campus map and directions, visit the Newtown Campus page on the Bucks website.
Faculty Emeriti Celebrate Rare Exhibition at Hicks Art Center
Artists representing six decades of legacy converged on Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center August 28 to celebrate “The Faculty Emeriti Arts Exhibition.” Various works by 27 retired professors and administrators from 1965 to 2025 are shown and heard throughout the Hicks Art Center, including recent and historic works that have never been exhibited or played in public before. The opening reception on the Newtown Campus also gave the artistic community the opportunity to meet Carolina Blatt, Ph.D., the new dean of the School of Arts and Communication. The show, which is free and open to the public, runs through October 25.
Carolina Blatt, dean of Bucks County Community College’s School of Arts and Communication, addresses visitors to “The Faculty Emeriti Exhibition” August 28 on the Newtown Campus. “Bucks’ reputation as a creative wellspring in the community is due in large part to the exceptional artists who have populated our faculty and nurtured our students,” Blatt said. The Hicks Art Center show, reflecting six decades of works by retired faculty, is open through October 25. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
Bruce Katsiff, who chaired Bucks County Community College’s arts department in the 1970s and 80s before becoming the founding director of the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, chats with Emmi Schatz, whose mother Charlotte Schatz (1929-2023) taught at Bucks for more than 30 years. Katsiff and Charlotte Schatz are among 27 artists whose works are featured in “The Faculty Emeriti Arts Exhibition” through October 25 on the Newtown Campus. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
Jon Burns (left), faculty member at Bucks County Community College, talks with gallery visitor Joe Seltzer before artwork by Bruce Katsiff entitled “Alan Goldstein (BP)” (2011, archival pigment print). Katsiff is among 27 artists whose works are featured in “The Faculty Emeriti Exhibition” through October 25 in the Hicks Art Center on the Newtown Campus. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
Gallery visitor Frank Pronesti reflects on Charlotte Schatz’s “Study for War in the Gulf” (1991, acrylic on paper) at “The Faculty Emeriti Exhibition” at Bucks County Community College’s Hicks Art Center. Schatz (1929 – 2023) taught at BCCC for more than 30 years. The exhibition, featuring the works of 27 artists, is open through October 25 on the Newtown Campus. (Credit: Mel Evans for Bucks County Community College)
