A bipartisan legislative agency to support rural Pennsylvania is urging Penn State’s leadership to consider long-term community impacts when deciding which of its Commonwealth Campuses to close.
“I strongly recommend it’s not just an evaluation of student enrollment trends, that it also takes into account how significant of an economic impact a closure would have on a community,” said Kyle Kopko, executive director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
This week, Penn State’s administration outlined which factors it’s using to make campus closure recommendations for 12 of its campuses. Those factors include enrollment declines, graduation rates, the number of higher education institutions across the state, and anticipated population shifts.
In a 2023 report, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania projected a 5.8% decline in the state’s rural population through 2050.
“We've been in contact with the university quite a bit, providing additional data on a wide range of issues,” Kopko said.
Kopko said the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a bipartisan legislative committee, often works with Penn State and other universities to help inform their decision-making. He said he is asking Penn State’s leadership and lawmakers to carefully consider how campus closures will affect those communities.
“Just because a campus closes, that doesn't mean that that real estate is going away,” Kopko said. “It still has to be maintained. Workers who are displaced have to find other means for employment.”
Kopko said he strongly recommends Penn State consider the economic impacts of campus closures.
A Penn State committee will make closure recommendations by the end of this semester. President Neeli Bendapudi previously said she expects to make an announcement before spring commencement.
