‘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.
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