Penn State DuBois launches practical nursing program, even with campus closure on the horizon

WPSU | By Sydney Roach

Published August 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM EDT

Students and educators in the new Licensed Practical Nursing program at Penn State celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Thursday afternoon. There are currently 13 students in the program, which takes 18 months to complete.

UPDATE, August 21 @ 8:40 p.m.: This story has been updated to include a response from Penn State about the future of the Licensed Practical Nursing program at Penn State in light of campus closures.

Penn State DuBois held a ribbon cutting ceremony on campus Thursday for its new Licensed Practical Nursing certificate program, which officials say will help address a nursing shortage in the region.

Community members, business leaders and elected officials got to tour the space and meet the first students in the program.

Speaking at the event, state Rep. Mike Armanini, whose 75th district covers parts of Clearfield and Elk counties, said local leaders are working to preserve what they can from the campus.

“There’s a lot of, of course, things up in the air with Penn State DuBois,” Armanini said.

Rep. Mike Armanini, who represents parts of Clearfield and Elk counties, said local leaders are working to preserve what they can from Penn State DuBois before it closes in 2027.

The Penn State Board of Trustees voted in May to close seven campuses, including DuBois. DuBois will stop accepting new students after the current fall semester, and the campus will officially close after the spring semester of 2027.

“Keep the faith,” Armanini said. “We will make sure that this facility shines now and into the future, because we have the commitment of so many great individuals that I’ve had the honor to work with since this announcement, that they’re not going to let it fail.”

Officials at the event did not say if there is a cutoff date for when they will stop accepting students for the practical nursing program, which takes 18 months to complete.

When asked in an email about the future of the program, a Penn State spokesperson said the university "remains committed to meeting the need for nurses across the Commonwealth."

"We are exploring where and how we can offer nursing programs to meet the needs of the local workforce and student interest," the spokesperson said.

Jungwoo Ryoo, the chancellor at Penn State DuBois, said they applied to the State Board of Nursing in January and got approval for the program in May.

Nicki Dufour (left, with blue jacket) is the director of the new Licensed Practical Nursing program at Penn State DuBois. She gave a tour of the lab to community members and explained what kind of work LPNs do.

Nicki Dufour, the program director, said she’s worked as a nurse in the area for almost 25 years.

“The nursing shortage has been a problem off and on for my entire career, so this program is a huge, huge need,” Dufour said.

There are currently 13 students in the program, but Dufour said they could add more students based on interest.