In a contentious decision, Penn State's board of trustees voted 25-8 Thursday night to close seven of its 19 Commonwealth Campuses, a move university leadership described as needed to be successful in the future, but which critics portrayed as rushed and lacking community input.
The campuses to be closed following the spring 2027 semester after a two-year wind-down period are: Penn State DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said that over the past 10 years, those seven campuses have seen enrollment drop 43%.
"The financial picture is also and equally sobering," she said. “We are spreading our students, faculty and staff so thin that we jeopardize the quality of education and the support that we can offer. We are subsidizing decline at the expense of growth.”
She said the university heard from more than 500 people, most of whom were advocating for keeping their campuses open. But, she said, that passion does not change the reality the university is facing: the demographic cliff from declining birth rates.
“We now know at least for the next two decades enrollments are going to drop nationally as well as in Pennsylvania," Bendapudi said.
The vote follows recommendations from a committee that reviewed 12 campuses, and ultimately recommended closing seven. Some, including University Park, Altoona and Harrisburg, were not considered for closure. That report was released to the public only after its recommendations were leaked to reporters.
The report points to factors including declining enrollment, maintenance costs and regional competition with other schools at some campuses.
Trustee Brandon Short, one of the trustees who voted for the closings, pointed to the "demographic cliff," saying keeping the underused campuses open while enrollment shrinks is "not financially sustainable."
“The closure of these campuses is going to have painful effects on all our constituencies in real ways," Short said. "To all those students and families and faculty, we hear you, we see you, we respect you. We’re committed to supporting you. But we also have to face undeniable realities.”
Bendapudi said the university will work with local and state leaders, donors and alumni on repurposing the seven campuses in ways that meet local needs.
But Trustee Chris Hoffman, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said those conversations should come first.
“In my business, we don’t make decisions and then figure out how we’re going to do it. We need to be able to have a clear path moving forward, so that we know that this is what we're doing, this is how we're going to make sure we're addressing those needs,” Hoffman said, later adding: “Once we make this vote, we can’t go back.”
Some community members and elected leaders also criticized the process leading up to the vote.
U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, a Republican from Centre County whose district includes Clearfield County, called closing Penn State DuBois "a grave disservice to the students, faculty, staff, and local industry."
"Rather than reimagining the DuBois campus for the future, a pre-determined outcome has been crafted behind closed doors," Thompson wrote in an opinion piece in the DuBois Courier Express.
The university's plan needs approval from the state Department of Education.
