Closing of Penn State Fayette leaves people feeling "betrayed," leader says
Three of those campuses are here in the Pittsburgh region, including DuBois, New Kensington, and Fayette.
We are now learning more about the next steps for faculty and students, and we have reaction to the campus closing from one prominent member of Fayette County government who fought hard to save the campus from shuttering. That person is Fayette County Controller Robert Rhodes. He says the announcement of the closing of Penn State Fayette, the county's only four-year degree school, is a tough pill to swallow.
"When you graduate from Penn State Fayette, or any branch campus, your diploma doesn't say Penn State Fayette; it says Penn State University," Rhodes said. "You are part of that pride that comes with being a Penn Stater, and I think a lot of people are going to feel betrayed with them pulling out. And it is sad to lose that entity because it was such a big part of the fibers of this county."
Rhodes, along with dozens of members of Fayette County government, fought to keep the campus from closing. One of the county commissioners even accompanied Rhodes to State College to try to have an in-person meeting with Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi on the day of the closer vote, but he says Bendapudi wasn't in and they were turned away.
Rhodes and many here in Fayette County are worried about not only the economic and educational hole this campus closing will bring, but also about the faculty and students who call this campus home.
KDKA reached out to Dr. Megan Nagel, the regional chancellor in charge of closing campuses in Fayette and New Kensington. She responded by email, saying that students will be helped by the university to finish their degrees either in person or online, and that faculty and staff will be given priority hiring if they apply for another job within Penn State.
"While Penn State's academic operations will wind down at these sites, University leaders are committed to partnering with local, state, and federal officials — as well as local and regional business leaders, developers, and community members — to reimagine what could come next," Nagel said.
However, Rhodes says he is unaware of any conversations about the campus's redevelopment.
"My hope is that somebody is able to fill their void," said Rhodes. "I don't know how soon. I would hope expeditiously, obviously. The ability to provide somebody with a postgraduate or a bachelor's degree here in Fayette County is so important to us moving forward as a community. I guess I am optimistic, but I am also scared at the same time."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US budget deficit forecast $1 trillion higher over next decade, watchdog says
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. federal budget deficits will be nearly $1 trillion higher over the next decade than projected in January by the Congressional Budget Office as a result of tax and spending legislation and tariffs, a budget watchdog said on Wednesday. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's latest forecasts show a cumulative deficit of $22.7 trillion from fiscal 2026 to 2035, compared to the CBO's January forecast of $21.8 trillion, which was based on laws and policies that were in place before U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. The CBO, Congress' non-partisan budget referee agency, said on Monday that it will not issue its customary mid-year budget update this year and will issue its next 10-year budget and economic outlook in early 2026, offering no explanation for the move. The CRFB, which advocates for deficit reduction, projected a $1.7 trillion deficit in fiscal 2025 or 5.6% of GDP, down slightly from $1.83 trillion in 2024 and the CBO's 2025 projection of $1.87 trillion in January. But it said deficits steadily rise over the decade, reaching $2.6 trillion or 5.9% of GDP by 2035. The new CRFB estimates include the budget effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax and spending bill, as well as Trump's tariffs that are currently in place. But like CBO, they do not include the dynamic economic effects on growth from these changes, a forecasting rule that has drawn criticism from the Trump administration. The group projects the tax cut and spending bill to increase deficits, including interest, by $4.6 trillion through 2035, adding another year to the CBO's $4.1 trillion cost estimate through 2034. But CRFB estimates that this will be offset by $3.4 trillion worth of extra import duty revenue over the next decade due to Trump's new tariffs that are currently in place. New rules restricting eligibility for health insurance subsidies will reduce deficits by another $100 billion through 2035, and Congress' rescission of prior funding to foreign aid, public broadcasting and other programs would save another $100 billion if sustained over a decade, CRFB said. Net interest payments on the national debt will total $14 trillion over the decade, CRFB projected, rising from nearly $1 trillion or 3.2% of GDP in 2025 to $1.8 trillion or 4.1% of GDP in 2035. TARIFF CHALLENGE The forecasts are based on legislative and tariff changes since January but keep CBO's economic forecasts unchanged. Under an alternative scenario forecast by CRFB, the budget picture looks far worse, boosting deficits nearly $7 trillion higher than the CBO baseline. This scenario would see a significant part of Trump's tariffs canceled if the Court of International Trade's ruling against many of Trump's new tariffs is upheld, cutting $2.4 trillion from revenues over a decade. The alternative scenario also assumes extension of a number of temporary tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including tax breaks on overtime, tips, Social Security income and car loan interest, higher state and local tax deduction allowances and full expensing of factory investments, adding $1.7 trillion to deficits over 10 years. CRFB's alternative scenario also ditches the CBO's projection of a decline in 10-year U.S. Treasury yields over the decade to about 3.8%. If that interest rate stays at the current level of about 4.3%, interest costs would grow by about $1.6 trillion through 2035, CRFB said. The total 2035 debt-to-GDP ratio would grow from 118% in the CBO January baseline to 120% under the CRFB's projected baseline scenario and 134% under the CRFB's alternative scenario. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The show's feud with the Trump White House isn't letting up.
The Trump administration's D.C. crackdown is set to be among South Park's next targets after a preview of its upcoming episode was dropped on Tuesday. The official South Park X account posted a brief preview of the episode that featured a wide-eyed recurring character, 'Towelie.' Towelie, who first appeared on season five of the show and is known for his penchant for smoking marijuana, is seen getting off a bus right outside the White House in the episode, titled 'Sickofancy.' The episode airs on Comedy Central on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fox News' Dana Perino Insists Newsom's Trump Trolling Is ‘Cringe' and ‘Just Not Funny'
The California Governor claps back against "DING DONG DANE" with another all caps Trump parody Fox News personality Dana Perino was adamant on Tuesday's episode of 'The Five' that she gets what the joke is with Gavin Newsom's parodies of Donald Trump social media posts. She thinks 'it's just not funny.' Newsom has recently started doing ALL CAPS parodies of Donald Trump's social media posts, only from his own POV, which has drawn a lot of attention to the California governor. On Monday, Perino dismissed Newsom's efforts to mock the president and promote his own agenda in this way, saying in part that he is 'making a fool of yourself, stop it,' and that 'he has to be a little bit more serious' if he wants to be President of the United States. More from TheWrap Fox News' Dana Perino Insists Newsom's Trump Trolling Is 'Cringe' and 'Just Not Funny' | Video Where to Watch 'Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson': Is the Special Streaming? 'South Park': Towelie Returns to Visit Trump's White House, Militarized DC in Episode 3 Trailer Watch: 'Severance' Director Ben Stiller Shares Britt Lower's Audition Tape, Praises It as 'The Best I've Seen' Setting aside the fact that the current president didn't have to 'be a little bit more serious' to get his job, people mocked Perino for those comments, accusing her among other things of not getting the joke. And so it is on Tuesday's 'The Five' she waded into it again. 'California's got a huge amount of problems. And if you think about Mamdani, his authenticity is what rocketed him to the top. And now you have Cuomo trying to copy him, and it's just cringe. And that was my point. Is that if you're doing this and it's not authentic and you're trying to do somebody else who you say is Hitler and you think that we don't get the joke, oh no, we get the joke, it's just not funny,' Perino said in part. Watch part of that below: Shortly after the episode aired, Newsom clapped back with another Trump parody. 'DANA 'DING DONG' PERINO (NEVER HEARD OF HER UNTIL TODAY!) IS MELTING DOWN BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM! FOX HATES THAT I AM AMERICA'S MOST FAVORITE GOVERNOR ('RATINGS KING') SAVING AMERICA — WHILE TRUMP CAN'T EVEN CONQUER THE 'BIG' STAIRS ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE!!! TRUMP HAS 'LOST HIS STEP' AND FOX IS LOSING IT BECAUSE WHEN I TYPE, AMERICA NOW WINS!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. — GCN,' Newsom said. We'll keep you updated if this disagreement goes into day three. Meanwhile, Newsom explained last week in a press conference what his strategy is. 'I hope it's a wakeup call. The President of the United States — I'm sort of following his example. And if you've got issues with what I'm putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he's putting out as president,' he said in part. He continued: 'So to the extent it's gotten some attention, I'm pleased. But I think the deeper question is: How have we allowed the normalization of his tweets, Truth Social posts over the course of the last many years to go without similar scrutiny and notice?' The post Fox News' Dana Perino Insists Newsom's Trump Trolling Is 'Cringe' and 'Just Not Funny' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
