Penn State officials say they’re transforming part of the closing DuBois campus into a regional manufacturing hub, thanks to nearly $200 million in private and public investments, including a $39.9 million federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
According to a Penn State release, the future DuBois Center for Innovation Regional Manufacturing Hub will open on the DuBois campus sometime in the next year-and-a-half, but construction and facility redevelopment will start in the next few months.
Speaking Tuesday at the Clearfield County Commissioners meeting, John Sobel, one of the commissioners, said the hub will support workforce development throughout northcentral Pennsylvania, but mainly in Elk and Clearfield counties.
“The powdered metals industries in the area, in the region, have been having difficulty getting employees, and I understand the proposal, once the operation is up and running, is to train as many as 150 workers a year," Sobel said.
Sobel said the international company Bunting Magnetics & Magnetic Applications is also investing $150 million into the hub.
"They manufacture magnets, of which components are in some instances made from rare earth elements and critical minerals, which we have in abundance here in Clearfield County," Sobel said.
Pressed materials companies in the northcentral region of Pennsylvania represent 43% of the industry's employment nationwide, according to the Penn State release on the hub's development.
Dave Glass, another commissioner, said he’s glad to see part of the Penn State DuBois campus continue to economically support the region.
“I think it's a very good opportunity. I mean, we've all been concerned about what's going to happen with that campus," Glass said.
Penn State’s Board of Trustees voted in 2025 to close seven campuses, including DuBois, by the end of the 2027 spring semester because of declining enrollment.
Mount Aloysius College, which is based in Cresson in Cambria County, is already using part of the Penn State DuBois campus as an educational space for training in nursing, surgical technology and ultrasound.
