Latest news with #campusclosure
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Closing of Penn State Fayette leaves people feeling "betrayed," leader says
Penn State announced on May 23 that it would be closing seven of its branch campuses across the state after the 2026-27 academic year wraps up. 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."
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More state officials speak out on Penn State campus closures: ‘It's disheartening'
DUBOIS, Pa. (WTAJ) — Since the Penn State Board of Trustees voted last week to close seven branch campuses, including DuBois, we've heard from several state officials who've raised concerns. 'It's disheartening to see them pull out and leave rural Pennsylvania at a loss here, so we will meet the challenges that this presents,' Senator Wayne Langerholc said. When we spoke with a donor of the Penn State DuBois campus earlier in May, they expressed concern about the buildings that they've donated to. Langerholc says that they're working to figure out a plan so the buildings don't sit vacant. 'We've been in talks and we'll continue to talk with any entity that you know believes in rural Pennsylvania in rural Clearfield County and wants to invest. I think that anyone that's willing to invest will find that we have incredible people in this region, we have incredible work ethic, we have incredible knowledge, we have incredible drive,' Langerholc said. More on Penn State University campus closures Senator Langerholc also expressed concerns about another move that could hurt rural communities; the state's plan to close Quehanna Bootcamp and SCI Rockview, but he remains optimistic. 'We will meet these challenges head on, and I'm confident on that front that we'll be able to hold those prisons in as well, but we will meet the challenges head on,' Langerholc added. The seven Penn State campuses are set to close their doors after the spring 2027 semester, but first, the closures must be approved by the department of education and governor Josh Shapiro, who seems to support the closures. He's publicly stated that he has confidence in the leadership at Penn State who made the decision. To read more about the Penn State campus closures, you can click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Penn State board votes to close 7 branch campuses
Penn State's board has voted to close seven of the university's branch campuses. Penn State's board of trustees voted 25 in favor and 8 against closing the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses the following spring semester. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi says over the past 10 years, the seven campuses have seen a 43% decline in enrollment. And there's the issue of financial costs. (Photo: KDKA) "Many are understandably hoping for a way to have it all, but honestly, the numbers tell a different story," Bendapudi said. Bendapudi says she understands how much people care about their local campuses and how they've deeply impacted the communities. "I want to be clear: we did not arrive at this moment because people failed. In fact, the opposite is true. We heard from more than 500 people," Bendapudi said. The university is offering resources for those impacted, including letting students complete their degree through the university and giving faculty members priority hiring considerations for other available positions. Penn State's Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Schuylkill and Scranton campuses had previously been considered for closure, but were taken off the chopping block.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Penn State's proposed closures draw anger, frustration. ‘We still want to be heard'
When the news leaked earlier this week that Mont Alto was among seven Penn State commonwealth campuses recommended for closure, students Jawad Malik and Yara Amleh sprung into action to try and save it. In less than four days, they gathered 37 pages of testimony from students, alumni and faculty and staff about the impact Mont Alto had on them and why it should continue to remain part of the Penn State system. Amleh, a nursing student and president of the student government association, said it was devastating to hear Mont Alto was one of the recommended closures, especially through a leak, and was more upset to learn that the university originally didn't plan to release the report for the recommendation until after a vote had taken place. Despite the frustration, they've been pleased with the amount of engagement and support they've gathered. 'It is amazing how quickly Mont Alto was able to band together to show we don't want to close. We're active. We have a voice, and we still want to be heard,' Amleh said. More than 3,000 students were enrolled last year in the commonwealth campuses that have been recommended for closure — DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York — and like Amleh and Malik, many others have made their voices heard this week. Faculty and elected officials have also pushed back on the report outlining the recommendations, which focus on issues including declining enrollment, poor financials and minimal room for growth. For Amleh, it was never a question if she wanted to attend Mont Alto. Between a family full of Penn Staters and the close distance to her house, it made sense. Now if it closes, her younger sister — and many others — won't have the opportunity to go to Mont Alto and might not go to Penn State at all. The nearest campus is Harrisburg, about 65 miles away. 'So many people are losing access to what they call a 'public ivy,' It is top notch education. I mean, so many people are losing that chance to go to college. People are losing those memories that they've made,' Amleh said. '... I don't want to be the one of the last graduating classes from Penn State Mont Alto. I don't want to be that kind of historical statement. The community stands to lose a lot and they're pushing back a lot.' Malik said he was a 'problem kid' and attended three different universities before landing at Mont Alto and thriving there. 'In a place that's much more rural, you would think that you get a lot less but you find a lot more, actually. The biggest reason why I stayed at Mont Alto is because the community is tight knit. I've been to a big university ... and I realized I need that one-on-one time. As a student-athlete, you get a level of care you don't get at University Park, at Altoona ... with these bigger class sizes. My favorite class so far is the class where it was me and one other student and the professor.' Mont Alto has brought 'comfort to education,' and that is hard to find elsewhere, he said, and closing Mont Alto would be like losing a family. That sentiment is felt across other campuses. Amelia Bradley-Rash chose to attend Penn State Fayette just like her mom and sister did before her. The campus is 25 minutes away from her home, an important factor to her. Now she's transferring to another university for her second year because the campus closure proposal brought confusion and she didn't want to stay if it was going to close, among other reasons. The community stands to lose a lot if it closes, she said, which 'hurts my heart.' 'I think the community would lose an amazing amount of professors, people that truly want the best for the students. I mean, the women in the library are so helpful. ... Every time a patron came into the library, a student, they were so helpful. And I'm not even just saying that because I have love for them. It's just going to be so sad not having that faculty to help the community.' Many faculty members have been sounding the alarm since President Neeli Bendapudi officially announced in February Penn State would close some campuses. On Tuesday she publicly released a recommendation report on commonwealth campus closures earlier than intended, following the news leaking a day earlier. Bendapudi and other university leadership have stressed that no decisions are final until the board votes, and no campus closures will happen before the end of the spring 2027 semester. The board of trustees are set to meet in a virtual, public meeting at 5 p.m. May 22. In an email to the university community Tuesday evening, Bendapudi expressed regret that news of the recommendation was shared through media coverage rather than by Penn State leadership. But that messaging may have done more harm than good. Several faculty members told the Centre Daily Times that the leadership's communication focused too much on their disappointment with the leak rather than the actual news of campuses closing. Why, they wondered, didn't the university just share information with them to begin with? Heather Page, student engagement and outreach librarian at Fayette, said her first reaction to seeing Fayette on the list of recommended closures was 'lots of swear words,' followed by a sense of relief. Even if it wasn't the news she wanted, she at least had information — something that had been lacking for months. 'They've been so opaque in their communication,' Page said. 'Just to have information at all was huge, even though it was not the information we hoped to find out.' In the university email Tuesday evening, Bendapudi said they had planned to share the recommendation report following the board's vote, which at that time, was not yet planned. Angela Pettitt, associate teaching professor at Shenango, said that hurt a lot. 'It really set into stone the fact that their plan was always to shut us out of this process until the decisions were made. We weren't going to have access to that report until the board had reviewed it, discussed it, and voted on it, and that really did hurt because the faculty senate has been begging for shared governance, begging for input for months,' she said. It's hard to keep the feelings about of how they found out vs. the news of recommended closures entirely separate, Pettitt said. She's still working through the stages of grief, noting that they're still being told nothing is final until the board takes action. Now the waiting game continues until the board meets Thursday. Pettitt has been at Shenango since 2010 and has seen the enrollment numbers dwindle from 800 to 300 students. 'We're still very much getting those mixed messages, and we have this tug of war, this cognitive dissonance between knowing our campus has been recommended for closure in black and white, with all the numbers to support it and all the justifications to support it, but our emails still tell us no decision has been final yet,' she said. Robin Yaure, a professor of teaching of human development and family studies, has been at Mont Alto for 36 years. Since hearing that Mont Alto was being explored for closure, and more recently, recommended to close, it's been frustrating and demoralizing. 'It just seems like it's been mismanaged from the very beginning, and this was just another example. That there's lip service about being kind to us, faculty and staff and everyone, and then yet, it's been dragged out for longer. We were supposed to know at the end of April. Now it's the middle of May, and the way we found out was through a leak. ... We should have had that information a long time ago,' she said. She supports the Penn State faculty senate's recommendation to pause the decision, and hopes the trustees reevaluate how the process has occurred and understand the need to work with the faculty, staff and students on this. Other entities, like the Penn State chapter of the American Association of University Professors, have done the same and urged the administration to keep the campuses open. On Friday the national AAUP also called on the board to reject the closures and develop plans that will serve all Pennsylvania students. 'The threatened campuses serve thousands of students and employ hundreds of faculty and staff across Pennsylvania. They are vital to the university's land grant mission. The proposal to substitute online classes for the in-person instruction, mentoring, research, and service conducted at these campuses does a disservice to students and their communities and threatens the academic integrity of existing programs as well as quality, equity, and access,' AAUP President Todd Wolfson said. 'Had President Bendapudi consulted with the faculty who teach, the staff who serve, and the students pursuing their education at these campuses, she would already know these things.' Elected officials have also spoken out against the plan. Congressman Glenn 'GT' Thompson, R-Howard, asked the board to reconsider closure of Penn State DuBois. Closing would have devastating economic and social consequences, he said. 'The ivory tower of academia in State College has grown so high that Penn State has lost sight of its mission: to educate all residents of the Commonwealth. For nearly 100 years, Penn State DuBois has been an anchor in our community,' Thompson said in a press release. 'Penn State should work with local employers to identify affordable programming that will lead to workforce opportunities for Pennsylvania's residents, rather than chasing out-of-state and overseas tuition dollars.' City of DuBois Council member Elliot Gelfand emailed the board and administration Friday, on behalf of the City of DuBois, asking to keep the campus open as well. Among the many reasons he shared against the closure, he said the region is already at risk of 'brain drain' and economic stagnation. He understands the challenges facing Penn State. But closing isn't the solution, rather, innovation and reinvestment is, he said. They called for the university to pause the decision and commit to community-based strategic plan, and consider hybrid models that reduce operational costs but still maintain a presence, among other action items. 'While it may seem financially beneficial to close a small campus, the long-term losses in human capital, community trust, and economic vitality far outweigh short-term savings. We cannot afford to lose this campus, and both alumni and our local communities should not accept a vision of Penn State that excludes rural Pennsylvania,' he wrote. State Senator Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, said closing Mont Alto would also have significant job losses and a loss of local access to higher education. The campus is known for its nursing and forestry programs, both of which directly supports the local workforce, he said. 'Penn State's decision to close the Mont Alto campus appears to be a band-aid attempt at minor cost-cutting, rather than a thoughtful approach to maintaining access to higher education for communities across Pennsylvania,' Mastriano said in a press release. 'The university has more than enough financial resources to continue operating its satellite campuses, ensuring local students have access to quality education.' In Fayette, state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa said she was 'outraged' to learn the Fayette campus was on the list of recommended closures and called the plan short-sighted. 'Shutting down the Fayette campus isn't about financial responsibility — it's about walking away from the very students Penn State was created to serve. It's a betrayal of the university's land-grant mission and a slap in the face to rural communities,' she wrote in a Facebook post. 'Abandoning this campus sends a clear message: if you're not from a wealthy or urban area, Penn State doesn't see you as worth the investment. That's disgraceful, and I urge every trustee to vote no against these closures.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Stress, uncertainty mark end of Penn State semester as campus closure decision looms
Heather Page has worked for three years at Penn State Fayette, a campus she loves and hopes her children will one day attend. But this past semester, the atmosphere at the campus was 'very bleak,' she said, with her colleagues riddled with stress while they await word on whether the campus will still exist by the time her kids are ready for college. 'The sun shiniest people I know are now just shadows of themselves, just from the stress,' Page, a student engagement and outreach librarian, told the CDT in a recent interview. 'It would be one thing if we were getting transparency from the administration, but the way we're being treated is just like, incredibly disrespectful to professional people who dedicated their time and lives here, and to our students who are here on purpose and sought out this education.' Penn State Fayette is one of 12 commonwealth campuses under consideration for closure, an announcement that came in February. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said a final decision on which will close would come in May, but guaranteed the seven largest campuses would remain open and invested in. Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and York could close. Enrollment is just one factor the university will use to make the decision; across the 12 campuses under consideration for closure, enrollment has declined by 39% over the last 10 years, according to university data. They'll also consider the university's evolving land-grant mission, population shifts, student experience and success, and the higher education landscape in Pennsylvania. But for Page and others closely connected to commonwealth campuses, there's more to consider than data and trends. 'I know that all of our faculty and staff are dedicated across all commonwealth campuses, so I'm not knocking anyone else,' Page said. 'It's just, these are my people, and I see them every day, and I see what they do and how they go above and beyond helping students — like giving them money out of their own pocket if their car breaks down or they can't afford gas. Just the most altruistic people are here at Fayette. I just see how much people love their students and their colleagues, and I'm like, how can you even think of closing this?' Josh Wede, faculty senate chair, painted a grim picture of employee morale during an April 29 meeting when he said morale is lower now than it was during the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal over a decade ago. Part of that stems from what is happening at the campuses, he said. 'Morale is low. It is lower than I have ever seen it,' he said. 'I mean, I've been here for a while, even Sandusky, when I thought Sandusky was about as low as it can get, it is far lower now. And if we want to get back to the greatness that Penn State can be — and there are some great things happening right now but it doesn't feel like it — we have to work on improving morale.' He acknowledged that there are challenges with the campuses that have been present for a while. But how the administration has approached the closures has left some feeling like there's a lack of evidence to support the decision. 'We expect to make decisions based on evidence. And what is happening now with the campus closures, to me, does not feel like we are evaluating everything that we possibly can, that we are looking at other opportunities that might exist, and I hope there is serious consideration taken for pausing what we're doing ... this is a decision that is going to impact Penn State for generations, we need to get this right,' Wede said. Michelle Rodino-Colocino, president of Penn State chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said in a phone interview the announcement has been one more source of stress. Amid national attacks on higher education, she said, this attack is 'coming from inside the house.' It's been a stressful and destabilizing time, Angela Pettitt, an associate teaching professor at Penn State Shenango, said in a phone interview. She learned in January that her contract would not be renewed, but is able to transfer to Penn State DuBois next year with a one-year contract. Now she's waiting to find out if either — or both — of those campuses will close. Pettitt is grateful to have a job, especially looking at the national landscape and federal government employees who have been abruptly laid off, and is sympathetic to the decisions campus administrations have had to make. But it's still disorienting. 'I have a job. I have a paycheck coming in. I'm still part of Penn State. I'm still getting to do the work that I love, but for how long? And why? We still don't really have a really good sense of why what we're doing isn't valuable to the university. I think that hurts more than anything,' Pettitt said. In a written statement, Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost, said she knows the discussions around the campuses are personal for students, faculty, staff, alumni and local communities. The leadership team believes in the mission of educating students and creating opportunities across Pennsylvania, she said. While the decisions they're making will put Penn State in a position to continue thriving well into the future, she said they're not being made lightly. 'While the future shape of our Commonwealth Campus ecosystem is still under consideration, I can say that throughout this process, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to our students, and their experience and success at Penn State. We also are working with care to minimize the impact of changes on our employees,' Langkilde said. 'While there are still many questions to be answered, we have workstreams working to address the complexities for our faculty, staff and students at the forefront of our work. Our teams are developing extensive transition plans to support members of our community.' She continued: 'With resolve, collaboration, and patience, I believe Penn State will emerge from this transformation stronger, more resilient, and more focused on our mission than ever before.' She pointed to the commencement ceremonies planned for the weekend as a reminder of why they do what they do, and of the impact a Penn State education has on thousands of students and families. As the university community celebrates the achievements of the gradates, there's reflection, hope and anticipation for what lies ahead, she said. 'That same forward-looking spirit is guiding these efforts as we work to evolve and strengthen Penn State's promise for future generations,' Langkilde said. Bendapudi's announcement came after weeks of closure rumors and the administration avoiding giving direct answers on the matter. At that point, low employee morale was already an issue as commonwealth campuses had seen budget cuts, a voluntary buyout program that hit staff especially hard and a shift to a regional leadership model. Since the administration introduced a new budget model, Pettitt said it was clear it wasn't a sustainable model and the campuses couldn't meet the expectations. But she said they were told this wasn't the first step in closure, and later that closures would be a last resort. 'So it was like, first it was off the table, then it was a last resort. So it's been this kind of progression of when you look back in hindsight, you kind of can see some of the writing on the wall,' she said. Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for commonwealth campuses and executive chancellor, Langkilde and Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff, are co-leading a group that will give Bendapudi a final recommendation of which remaining campuses should close. Bendapudi is expected to give her recommendation to the board of trustees later this month. The board will have to take action on the recommendation before it is official. Some faculty members feel like they've been given mixed messages about the driving factor behind the decision to close campuses. In Bendapudi's initial announcement, she cited financial pressures as one thing Penn State and higher education in general is facing that 'require us to make difficult choices.' During an April 1 faculty senate meeting, Bendapudi said the closure decision is not driven by financial savings but rather student success, experience and other factors. But what 'student experience' or 'student success' means is unclear. '...They have refused to define the student experience, time and again, so we have no idea what they mean,' Page said. 'It's a different campus from University Park but every campus has unique qualities, unique faculty and staff support, and outstanding quality. Because this is Penn State. We're not going to drop our standards no matter what.' And the idea that commonwealth campuses do not provide a robust student experience stung — and seemed counterproductive — to some. Pettitt said she understands the student experience piece to some degree, because the students at campuses don't have the course offerings, student organizations or facilities that larger campuses or University Park have. But just as importantly, she said, some students aren't looking for that. 'We do have a lot of students who do just kind of want to come to campus, take their classes, and then they have competing priorities in their lives,' she said. 'They have families and children, and there's a reason that they chose to come somewhere where they can commute. ... They don't want to live in a dorm, they don't want huge classes.' Tuition is also less expensive at the campuses compared to University Park, and the majority of students at campuses are from the county the campus is located in, or a surrounding county, so they're able to live at home, reducing living expenses. Pettitt also questions if the students would remain in the Penn State system once campuses close, or if they'll lose them to other local universities. Or they might forgo a college education completely, she said. Brian Bannon's daughter is a second year student at Penn State Mont Alto — a school she attended specifically for its forestry major. The campus is a 'microcosm of the entire point of Penn State' and the land grant mission, Bannon said. Penn State Mont Alto was founded in 1903 as the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy and was one of the first public forestry schools in the country. It later merged with Penn State and became a commonwealth campus. 'It's kind of a cool little campus. It has a big nursing program and forestry are kind of the two big things there, two things we need,' Bannon said, alluding to the significant economic impact of the state's forestry industry and a nurse shortage. Langkilde in an April 1 faculty senate meeting said once they identify which campuses will close, they'll work on ensuring the right programs are offered in the right place to be able to serve local communities. The Academic Portfolio and Program Review data will be informative in that process, she said. 'We've already got some people working on this but that's going to be a big stage once we've identified what the remaining campuses are,' Langkilde said. Bendapudi previously said no campuses would close before the end of the 2026-27 academic year. Bannon's daughter won't be directly affected by a campus closure because she's doing the 2+2 program and will have moved to University Park or graduated by the time any campuses close, but he's still concerned about the impact to morale. He's worried about the current educational impact too, after seeing some of her classes move to an online format. 'You're supposed to have an in-person class and you end up being remote, that's a whole different thing, especially in forestry,' Bannon said. 'In forestry, they would go out on hikes and walk through the forest, they would tag and name trees. They would cut down trees in certain areas and things as part of their program. So then to have a class that's by Zoom, is a major difference, not exactly what we thought we were paying for.' A Penn State alum who attended a commonwealth campus himself, Bannon is frustrated with the lack of transparency from the university and wonders what Penn State's financial priorities are, pointing to different multi-million dollar projects around the university, like the recently opened Palmer Museum of Art, or the Beaver Stadium renovation project. Bendapudi has emphasized the $700 million stadium renovation project does not use any tuition or state funding, and the Penn State athletic department has raised nearly $131 million in funding from gifts to go toward the project. 'I understand it's a different pot of money but the stuff that's going on at Beaver Stadium could probably sustain Mont Alto for 100 years. Six, seven hundred kids could learn for the next generation based on what we're trying to do to build some luxury suites for some really well heeled alumni. So the priorities seem to be not in line with the original land grant,' Bannon said. With the campus closure decision looming, hundreds of students and employees are waiting to hear what their future may hold. Rodino-Colocino hopes the trustees hear everyone's concerns when they meet to vote on Bendapudi's recommendation. 'I hope the trustees are moved by the voices they're hearing from the students and the faculty and the staff across the system, at University Park and at all the campuses, whether or not they're under threat of being cut,' she said, and also hopes students and faculty and staff come together, organize to fight for campuses to remain open. Pettitt echoed something a faculty senator mentioned during their last meeting when they compared the commonwealth campus system to the athletics programs at the university. In a 'perfect world,' she said, Penn State would subsidize the campuses in the same way it subsidizes smaller athletic programs that don't drive revenue. 'The same way that any major organization, you have a budget as a whole and the areas that are flush and profitable help subsidize those that aren't as much but still provide a valuable, worthwhile service,' she said. 'I think the education that we provide, the jobs that we provide, the research that the faculty are doing at the campuses is worth preserving, is worth funding and keeping us going.'
