‘No point in waiting,' PSU trustees vote to close DuBois, 6 other campuses
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WTAJ) — After nearly two hours of discussion and debate during a special meeting, the Penn State University Board of Trustees voted to close seven commonwealth campuses that they say have seen significant declines in enrollment.
Toward the end of the meeting, which was publicly livestreamed on Penn State's website at 5 p.m. Thursday, Board Chair David Kleppinger motioned for the board to hold a vote on the campus closures. The campuses under consideration were DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York.
The board of trustees ultimately decided to begin the process of closing the campuses in a 25-8 vote. The commonwealth campuses are expected to close at the end of the 2026-27 academic year.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Union leader, Jay Paterno weigh in on possible Penn State campus closures ahead of vote
University officials cited ongoing financial challenges and declining enrollment as the driving factors behind the recommendation. Kleppinger said at the beginning of Thursday's meeting that they had previously held meetings on the topic on May 9 and May 15 due to the Pennsylvania Sunshine law.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi was the first to give opening remarks during the meeting, saying that all seven campuses experienced a 43% decline in enrollment and cited declining birth rates from 2008 to 2024. She added that the campuses also spread students and staff too thin.
Bendapudi suggested a two-year wind-down of the campuses to avoid any disruptions and explained the move would help reposition the university for the 'next century of excellence.'
Following Bendapudi's statement, each trustee was allotted five minutes to offer arguments for or against the closures. Trustee Anthony Lubrano was against the closures, saying that Penn State needed to allow the communities to engage further in the topic before casting a vote.
However, Trustee Karen Quintos was for the closures, arguing the issue is not a Penn State problem but a Pennsylvania problem.
'I don't think delay is an option, we owe students, faculty and staff closure,' Quintos said.
Quintos also claimed that the recommendation to close the seven commonwealth campuses was leaked to the media by someone on the board of trustees. Kleppinger later countered these claims, saying that they had not concluded the source of the leak and they were not positive that it was a trustee.
A majority of the trustees who spoke during the meeting said the decision on the vote was difficult, but ultimately agreed to vote on President Bendapudi's recommendation to avoid the issue coming up again in the near future.
'If we don't do something, we'll be back playing Russian roulette,' Trustee Barry Fenchak said about cutting the commonwealth campuses.
The meeting came amid ongoing uncertainty and discussions about the future of Penn State's branch campuses. Penn State operated 19 undergraduate commonwealth campuses throughout the state, many of which have played a crucial role in regional access to higher education.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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In most of Rozova's photos that were posted on social media or taken by media outlets for interviews, her face is deliberately cropped or turned away — a subtle yet telling choice, which some believe is due to her uncanny resemblance to the Russian leader. In the few photos of Rozova where her face is fully visible, she does bear unmistakable resemblance to Putin. 'Listen, judging by (Putin's) younger photos — probably, yes, I do look like him. But as it turns out, there are actually a lot of people who resemble Vladimir Vladimirovich,' she told GQ Russia in 2021. In the interview, Rozova wasn't directly asked whether she was related to the Russian leader. Rozova first attracted international attention in 2020, when the independent Russian investigative outlet Proekt published an expose detailing the substantial wealth of her mother, Svetlana Krivonogikh, who at the time possessed over $100 million in assets. 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'We regret that some voices have called for forms of stigmatization or 'collective punishment,' and we remind everyone that no one should be judged by their origins, birthplace, heritage, or any other criteria beyond their control. This is a red line we will not cross,' the organization wrote on Facebook on June 9, although they didn't mention Rozova by name. In response to Rodionova's post, a number of Russian emigres argued in the comments that Rozova should not be held accountable for the crimes of her alleged father. They claimed she has made a public anti-war stance in social media — although her actual social media account is disputed — and pointed to her residence in Paris as evidence that she is unlikely part of Putin's close inner circle. The exact number of Putin's children remains unconfirmed. It's known that he has two daughters from his marriage to Lyudmila Putina, who he divorced in 2014. In 2024, the Russian investigative outlet Dossier Center reported that he also has two young sons with Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast long rumored to be his partner. The two boys reportedly live in Putin's residence on Lake Valdai in northwestern Russia. Since coming forward with her revelation about Putin's alleged daughter Rozova, Rodionova told the Kyiv Independent that she has dealt not only with public slander but also threats made against her. 'I want to believe that these people have expressed their personal opinion but lots of messages were suspiciously similar,' she said, suggesting that there was an organized campaign of retaliation. Rodionova pushed back against those attacking her for raising questions about Rozova's parentage, arguing that they were distorting the reasons behind her decision. Regardless of Rozova's personal politics or the extent to which she has or hasn't benefited from the Russian regime, exiled artists like Rodionova emphasize that the ongoing dangers posed by Russia's full-scale war require extra caution and transparency when it comes to who is welcomed into anti-war cultural spaces. Read also: Controversial Russian literature prize sparks debate on separating culture from war crimes Hi there, it's Kate Tsurkan, thanks for reading this article. The story of Putin's alleged daughter working in anti-war art galleries in Paris is one of those crazy stories that make you realize culture and politics are never that far removed from each other, especially when it comes to Russia's war against Ukraine. I hope by reading this article you also reflected on questions of accountability, transparency, and trust during wartime. If you like reading this sort of material, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid member of the Kyiv Independent today. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
