Latest news with #Bendapudi
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penn State board backs plan to close 7 campuses, saying low enrollment, financials leave no other choice
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at Penn State's Board of Trustees approved the closure of seven campuses Thursday, putting into motion a process that will impact thousands of students and more than 500 employees. Citing declining enrollments and financial challenges, the university will close the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York locations after May 2027. Ahead of the vote, President Neeli Bendapudi told the board that closing the locations was a strategic and humane decision. 'We are spreading our students, faculty, and staff so thin that we jeopardize the quality of education and the support that we can offer,' Bendapudi said. 'We are subsidizing decline at the expense of growth.' The board passed the president's closure plan by a vote of 25 to 8. Trustees Ted Brown, Donald Cairns, Lynn Dietrich, Barry Fenchak, Chris Hoffman, Anthony Lubrano, Jay Paterno, and Nicholas Rowland voted against the measure. The three state secretaries on Penn State's board — Cynthia Dunn, secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Carrie Rowe, acting secretary of education; and Russell Redding, secretary of agriculture — did not attend the meeting due to a perceived conflict of interest, said board Chair David Kleppinger. Multiple trustees said this was a difficult, but necessary decision for Penn State's future. The move brings some finality to months of uncertainty and consternation among university officials and employees. Under Bendapudi, Penn State made steep budget cuts to its statewide system, centralized leadership and administrative positions, and paid some employees to leave. However, internal documents obtained by Spotlight PA suggest those moves did not stem financial losses at the campuses. In February, the university began to review closing up to 12 of its 20 statewide campuses. Some faculty bristled at the perceived lack of transparency from the administration about the factors and data informing which locations it chose to review. Initially, Penn State said Bendapudi would decide which campuses to close. Then, in April, the university announced the governing board would approve the closure plan. Leading up to Thursday's vote, some trustees challenged Penn State's reasons and goals for shutting down locations. Hundreds of people signed an open letter to trustees asking them to consider other options for the campuses. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the list of seven campuses the president wanted to close. Spotlight PA obtained nearly 250 pages of internal Penn State records, including the full text of the university's recommendation and related materials informing the board's private discussions. Those records revealed Bendapudi envisions a Penn State that is more regionalized and that maintains the campuses with the largest enrollments, those in areas with growing populations, and ones that generate revenue or are near self-sustaining. The campuses Bendapudi recommended for closure did not meet these criteria. Following Spotlight PA's story, Penn State publicly shared the recommendation report. Kleppinger, the board chair, said trustees met privately for nearly four hours in two executive sessions this month to answer dozens of trustee questions on Bendapudi's plan. Transparency advocates have questioned the board's use of executive sessions to restrict public access to those gatherings. Melissa Melewsky — media counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which Spotlight PA is a member — said that closing campuses was 'the exact type of discussion that should be happening amongst the board at a public meeting.' A former university trustee wrote in this week that someone living locally should take legal action against the board for one of its private gatherings. Thursday afternoon was the first time trustees discussed the topic at a public meeting. For more than an hour, some trustees applauded the university for taking action on the topic, while others voiced concern with how the closure plan would be implemented or whether the administration considered other options. 'This is a decision that's been facing us for decades, and we're finally getting to it,' said Naren Gursahaney, a trustee representing business and industry. 'And I see no upside to waiting at this stage. I think the sooner we move forward, the sooner we can impact this … and avoid having to make the false tradeoffs we've had to make over those last 15 to 20 years.' Rowland, the academic trustee, said he would've liked to see more creative solutions. 'Voting to close these campuses is more than a fiduciary decision. I think it's a statement,' he said. 'It's a statement about who we are. It's a statement about who we choose to serve and who we're going to leave behind.' The board's Thursday meeting was held on Zoom without an in-person component, a practice legal experts had previously said could run afoul of Pennsylvania's open meetings law. If the gathering's legality was challenged in court, a judge could overturn any decision made at the meeting. Kleppinger said trustees received hundreds of emails ahead of Thursday's vote. Additionally, more than 150 people submitted written public comments to the board, with most asking the board to reconsider the proposal and sharing their experiences at Penn State's various locations. Bendapudi said passion does not change reality. 'Maintaining the status quo is not sustainable,' she said. The internal records previously obtained by Spotlight PA say that Penn State does not anticipate political or financial fallout from the decision. The university also does not think the hundreds of millions of dollars it receives each year in taxpayer funds, now under consideration, are in jeopardy. In a press conference following the meeting, alumni-elected trustee Jay Paterno said that, under Pennsylvania law, the state secretary of education must also approve the closure plan. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Penn State president addresses community after board approves 7 campus closures
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi addressed the community in a livestream Thursday evening after the board of trustees approved closing seven commonwealth campuses, pledging her support for the students, faculty and staff affected by the decision. Bendapudi said they've received more than 500 letters and emails about how the campuses have positively impacted lives, and acknowledged that the decision and change can feel deeply personal and difficult. She said she's confident that they'll focus their resources where Penn State can have the most lasting impact. 'I recognize, believe me, I do, that the past several weeks, indeed months, have caused heightened concern and uncertainty. I want you to know that I hear you and I see you and I care deeply about every student, faculty member, staff member, donor, alum and community stakeholder impacted by this moment. As we move through this period of change over the next two years, I want to be crystal clear about one thing: our people come first,' Bendapudi said during the livestream, which lasted about 15 minutes. While many trustees praised Bendapudi's forward-thinking approach and leadership in the past months while campus closures were under consideration, other trustees and community members have voiced concerns over lack of transparency and decisions made without consideration of all stakeholders. 'I would advocate that we wait until we have more information and more answers,' trustee Jay Paterno said during the board meeting. 'This is by far the most important vote any of us as trustees will have made, are going to make, and likely the most important vote we will ever make. Not having all the information should concern us.' Teams of university leaders are creating transition plans with students, faculty and staff in mind, Bendapudi said, to mitigate and minimize the negative impacts. They don't have all of the answers yet but some information has been, and will continue to be, posted to the Penn State Roadmap, she said. Penn State is firmly committed to honoring tenure and contracts for faculty members, Bendapudi said, and leadership is working to establish 'priority hiring consideration' for open positions across the university system for staff members. Students who begin at a closing campus will have the opportunity to complete their degree at Penn State, and each impacted student will have personalized guidance and advising through the process. 'The two-year closure timeline at these campuses will allow students currently enrolled — and those enrolling for the fall 2025 semester — time to complete or make significant progress toward their degrees. With two academic years before closure, associate's degree students will have the opportunity to complete their programs,' a news release from the university states. With the board's approval to close DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses following the spring 2027 semester, Penn State's campus ecosystem will include 13 campuses along with the Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Dickinson Law, World Campus, Penn College of Technology and University Park. Bendapudi stressed Penn State will continue to have an active presence across Pennsylvania. Additionally, Penn State Extension has a presence in every Pennsylvania county, and they'll continue to invest in the Invent Penn State launch boxes. And even with campuses closing, Penn State will continue to have the largest campus ecosystem of any land grant university. Looking ahead, the university will work with local, state and federal elected officials, business and community leaders, donors and alumni to 'reimagine' what is best for those communities. 'The future use of these locations may or may not involve Penn State directly, but we will play a convening role to help catalyze possibilities that benefit the surrounding regions,' a news release states.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘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.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Penn State faculty alliance rallies against planned closures, calling it the university's 'biggest employment crisis'
Protest grows as Penn State faculty demand halt to US campus closure plans. (Representative AI Image) A growing coalition of faculty at Penn State University is mounting a significant protest against a proposal to close seven Commonwealth Campuses , a move they describe as the institution's "biggest employment crisis." The Penn State Faculty Alliance delivered a petition signed by more than 500 faculty, staff, and supporters to university President Neeli Bendapudi, urging a halt to the campus closure process and calling for transparency and inclusive decision-making. The petition was submitted at President Bendapudi's Old Main office just one day before the university's Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the proposed closures. The plan targets the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York campuses, with closures proposed following the 2026–27 academic year. Faculty protest "reckless pace" and lack of transparency The faculty alliance argues that the closure process has been fast-tracked, conducted largely behind closed doors, and lacks meaningful consultation with those most affected. According to the petition, as reported by State College, decisions have been made "at a reckless pace" without proper analysis of the impact on students, faculty, staff, and the communities that host the campuses. Rebecca Sarver, an assistant teaching professor at Penn State Wilkes-Barre and a lead organizer of the alliance, stated, "Every day, we connect with the people this institution is designed to serve, the students," as quoted by State College. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like USDJPY đang đi lên không? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo She emphasized that the administration had bypassed faculty with experience and insight into the needs of these campuses. Concerns over student equity and community access Faculty members argue the closures would disproportionately affect lower-income students who depend on accessible, local education. According to the petition, many students at the targeted campuses may not be able to relocate or transfer easily, adding to their stress and uncertainty, especially amid faculty and staff departures. In a statement reported by State College, Ruth Tillman, an associate librarian at University Park, called the proposal "shameful," saying it removes "life-changing opportunities" from vulnerable communities. Criticism of administration's rationale While Penn State's recommendation report cites challenges such as declining enrollment, financial strain, and aging infrastructure, President Bendapudi's own remarks—quoted during a University Faculty Senate meeting and referenced by State College—suggested the closures may not be primarily for cost-saving. This contradiction prompted the faculty alliance to question the decision-making framework, stating, "Why not invest in them and strengthen their essential role in fulfilling Penn State's land grant mission?" Calls for immediate action and accountability The petition urges the university to immediately pause the closure process, conduct a comprehensive impact analysis, and commit to a more transparent, participatory process. Faculty are also calling for assurances that all affected employees will be treated with dignity and fairness. According to State College, the alliance is also organizing with SEIU Local 668 to form a faculty union, adding another layer of organized resistance to what they view as a damaging and opaque administrative move. Invest in Their Tomorrow, Today: Equip your child with the essential AI skills for a future brimming with possibilities | Join Now
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penn State president wants to close 7 campuses. Internal records explain why.
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi has asked university trustees to approve closing seven of its commonwealth campuses because the current statewide model 'subsidizes decline,' according to internal records obtained by Spotlight PA. Penn State York, Mont Alto recommended for closure; report 'Fulfilling our land-grant mission does not require a four-year campus in every corner of Pennsylvania,' the president wrote. Instead, under the proposal, online classes could replace some in-person offerings and a leaner university with fewer locations could invest in the parts of Pennsylvania where Penn State believes it can still succeed. Bendapudi has proposed closing Penn State's DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York campuses. More than 500 employees and thousands of students would be affected by the move. 'These are not just campuses; they are homes, launching pads, and sources of deep pride. And yet … if we delay action, the pressures we face—demographic, financial, competitive—will continue to mount. In time, those forces will make decisions for us, not with the care, intention, or commitment to students and communities that this process allows,' Bendapudi wrote to trustees. On Monday, the Philadelphia Inquirer first reported the list of seven campuses Bendapudi wanted to close. In response, board chair David Kleppinger said in a statement, 'I find it deeply frustrating that someone with early access to this recommendation decided to share it with the media with absolutely no regard for how this information would impact members of our campus communities. Our students, faculty and staff deserve better.' But the Penn State Board of Trustees still needs to approve the plan, a vote that's grown more contentious. Questions, as well as outright disapproval, from some trustees delayed a scheduled vote this week, according to people with knowledge of the board's operations. Trustees will meet privately Thursday to continue discussing the proposal. Spotlight PA obtained the materials trustees are reviewing, which total almost 250 pages. The full text of the university's recommendation and related materials offer the most detailed look to date at Penn State's justification for potentially shuttering locations, upending the lives of thousands of employees and students, and markedly changing the educational landscape of Pennsylvania. The records provide a campus-by-campus rationale for closing, offer insights into how trustees feel about the decision, and reveal that Penn State officials anticipate minimal political and funding fallout from the move. Penn State's Office of Strategic Communication did not respond to a request for comment for this story. In the documents, Penn State claims that previous university administrations failed to act. Closing campuses is presented to trustees as the only viable option: 'We now have an opportunity to address what's long been understood.' The documents note that enrollments at Penn State's smallest 12 campuses continued declining despite more than $1 billion in investments between 2010 and 2024, including $105 million under Bendapudi. Likewise, they highlight that new academic programs, digital advertising, tuition discounts, and increased support for out-of-state and international students largely failed to boost enrollments. 'The plan to close campuses was not the initial intent of this administration; rather, it was a discovered reality,' the documents say. Under the proposal, the new Penn State will be regionalized to incentivize larger classes and on-campus living instead of commuting. Locations that generate revenue or are near self-sustaining, those with the largest enrollments, and those in areas with growing populations will remain. Historical enrollment trends and opportunities for future growth were key factors in the university's recommendation. Other criteria given significant weight were nearby housing availability and the ability to duplicate academic offerings at a nearby campus or online. The records include a multi-paragraph rationale for closing each of the seven campuses, which say in part: For DuBois, the main reason is 'sustained and substantial enrollment decline,' the report reads. The population in the surrounding area — Clearfield, Elk, and Jefferson Counties — is aging and declining. Other organizations, like the Triangle Tech vocational school, are leaving the region too, the university argued. At Fayette, successful programs at other campuses are not driving enrollments there. The campus is 'underutilized,' and there is 'limited demand for in-person education in this location.' While the local college-age population is expected to grow, Penn State faces regional competition with PennWest California and Waynesburg University. Penn State recommends closing Mont Alto due to enrollment and demographic challenges. 'The limited pool of prospective students constrains the campus' ability to rebuild enrollment organically, even with aggressive outreach or new program development.' Declining use of campus housing is also driving up per-student costs. New Kensington has 'struggled to maintain relevance and scale in an increasingly competitive higher education environment' around Pittsburgh, the report reads. The campus' offerings mirror other locations and nearby Penn State Beaver will maintain Penn State's presence in the area. For Shenango, declining populations and economic challenges in the surrounding region 'fundamentally limit the potential for future enrollment stabilization.' Without more campus housing, Penn State could not bring more students to the campus, either. Wilkes-Barre was recommended for closure because its campus is small and has limited housing, which makes it less appealing than nearby locations like Scranton and Hazleton. 'There is no compelling academic niche or distinctive program portfolio at Penn State Wilkes-Barre that cannot be replicated or consolidated' at another campus or online. Penn State York lacks the campus housing to attract non-commuter students. The nearby Harrisburg location has such housing and offers more diverse programming. Five other locations — Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Schuylkill, and Scranton — were considered but not recommended for closure. The university estimates closing the seven campuses would save around $50 million a year, along with clearing around $200 million in needed maintenance at the properties. The records do not offer an estimate of what it will cost to implement the plan. Julio Palma, a Penn State Fayette professor, told Spotlight PA that shutting down a location is not innovation. Penn State is abandoning communities, like coal companies have done throughout Appalachia, he said. 'This is a public university that receives funding from the state, it receives funding from taxpayers,' Palma said. 'Those taxpayers are spread in every corner of the state. They are in Fayette. And while the taxpayers are supporting Penn State across the state, Penn State is closing doors, closing opportunities.' Penn State estimates that 520 full-time employees will be affected by the closures. Non-tenure-line faculty and staff could be rehired and could be given priority consideration for jobs at remaining campuses and University Park. 'The largest expense will likely be severance costs for employees who are no longer employed by Penn State,' the recommendation says. No cost estimate is provided in the records, though the university expects to reduce such workforce expenses through attrition, retirements, and voluntary separations. More than 3,100 students were enrolled in the seven campuses in fall 2024, representing 3.6% of Penn State's systemwide enrollment, according to university data. Other campuses could absorb these students without needing to hire additional staff, the university estimates. Affected students could receive additional financial aid, adjusted costs when attending another campus, or even gas cards, according to the proposal. These students will be offered 'navigation coaches' who will help students clarify their goals, stay motivated, and find experts to answer their questions. Students at these campuses are not necessarily going to travel a greater distance to enroll at another campus, or they may not have the means, Andrea Adolph, a Penn State New Kensington professor, told Spotlight PA. The administration and trustees do not understand this reality, she said: 'This is going to be an incredible blow to opportunities for students who can't pick up and move somewhere else.' Penn State, in its recommendation, argues that fewer campuses will benefit students. 'Treating all campuses the same would have meant continued subsidies to locations with little growth potential—ultimately disadvantaging students elsewhere across the commonwealth. With this recommendation, the University can focus on targeted investments where it can do the greatest good, particularly for first-generation, Pell-eligible, and underserved students.' Penn State will not accept new student applications for closed campuses after fall 2025. Trustees were expected to vote on Bendapudi's proposal on Thursday but the volume of questions from board members, as well as consternation from some, have delayed the move. Thursday's meeting will be a private executive session. The board also gathered Friday morning in private at University Park, during which they discussed the closure plan, according to a public statement by board Chair Kleppinger and people with knowledge of trustee discussions. In private, Kleppiner has told trustees the board should unanimously support Bendapudi's proposal and that dissent could hurt her legacy, according to multiple sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private board dynamics. Last month, trustees Jay Paterno and Ted Brown, and later Nicholas Rowland, publicly questioned the administration's approach to the decision and stated reasons in several op-eds in 'Our campuses are not line items to cut or assets to liquidate; they are integral parts of the whole,' Rowland wrote. But several factors work in Bendapudi's favor. The size of Penn State's board — 36 voting members — requires a large number of trustees to vote against the measure to stop it. Also, trustees will take one vote on the proposal, not consider closures on a campus-by-campus basis. Finally, voting data shows that trustees are often loath to vote against an administration's proposal. A previous Spotlight PA analysis of trustee votes between 2019 and 2024 found that they passed nearly 85% of measures without a single oppositional vote. The board voted down just four of the 328 measures it considered during this period, three of which were motions a trustee proposed mid-meeting. The other, in July, was an option for how trustees should be elected to the board. According to the board documents, trustees have questioned how the administration will implement the plan, the estimated costs and savings, and how Penn State could divest from the associated real estate. The records provide some insight into how Penn State's governing body is thinking about the proposal given that, to date, the board has not held public discussions on the topic. The board previously planned a virtual-only meeting this week to vote on the plan, an act that legal experts previously told Spotlight PA could run afoul of Pennsylvania's open meetings law. Someone could challenge the meeting in court, and if they were successful, a judge could potentially overturn the trustees' votes, the lawyers told Spotlight PA. (Penn State did not respond to requests for comment at the time.) This spring, some members of the university community, including employees, called on Bendapudi to reconsider closing campuses. They felt the president's reasons for weighing closures— at first financial and later about the student experience — lacked clarity and transparency. The vast majority of the more than 500 public comments Penn State received — from community members to alumni to lawmakers — asked the university to keep all locations open. Trustees received brief summaries of these comments. The recommendation documents note that some people said they supported closures but felt pressured to publicly say otherwise, though the report did not include further information about these claims. Opponents of campus closures did not offer any 'fully developed or funded proposals,' the board's documents say. Likewise, Bendapudi and her chief of staff, Michael Wade Smith, talked to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and state lawmakers, and 'there have been no offers of financial support in these conversations,' the document reads. Shapiro's office did not return a request for comment for this story. According to the internal documents, Penn State does not anticipate political or reputational fallout from the decision, nor does it think the hundreds of millions of dollars it receives each year in taxpayer funds, now under consideration, are in jeopardy. 'We do not expect this decision to have long-term negative implications on the Penn State brand,' the documents read. '… We can expect short-term dissatisfaction within the local communities where campus closures will have an impact, which is likely to manifest in negative news coverage — local and regional.' and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
