Penn State’s plan to close some Commonwealth campuses gets pushback from faculty and two trustees

With a decision on Commonwealth campus closures expected soon, a Pennsylvania State University faculty group and several current and former trustees are speaking out against the plan.

The president of the Penn State chapter of the American Association of University Professors criticized the plan in letters to Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi and the board of trustees.

The closures, wrote Michelle Rodino-Colocino, could “roll back recent improvements in serving students from underrepresented backgrounds — Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Native Alaskan, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The administration credited such gains in diversity to the accessible ‘flexible’ Commonwealth Campus model and recruitment in diverse cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia …"

» READ MORE: Penn State plans to close some Commonwealth campuses

Rodino-Colocino, an associate professor in film production and media studies, also faulted the university for not involving faculty in decision-making.

“The Penn State AAUP chapter calls on the administration to reverse its decision, and, from today forward, to involve faculty as primary decision-makers in academic budgeting,” the letter states.

Meanwhile, trustees Jay Paterno and Ted Brown, who serve on the more than 30-member board, were among a group that released a letter publicly criticizing potential closures. They said that while Penn State loses $40 million to $50 million a year operating the 20 campuses, that amount represents just 0.4% of the $10 billion annual budget.

“That 0.4% is an investment in the soul of Penn State and the heart of our land-grant mission to bring access to the university to people across the commonwealth,” they wrote last week in an op-ed published on StateCollege.com. “That 0.4% seems like a small price to pay for our soul.”

» READ MORE: Penn State expanded its branch campuses decades ago. Now, some say that’s one reason state universities are struggling.

Brown, a longtime supporter of the Commonwealth campuses, had suggested several years ago that the university add students to the campuses as an alternative to raising tuition.

“They are hidden gems,” Brown said in 2021. “What I would really like to see is for us to get them back where they were 10 years ago.”

Penn State in December said it was aiming to increase enrollment at the already growing University Park campus.

Enrollment has been declining steadily at the Commonwealth campuses. It stood at roughly 24,000 last June, down about 30% since 2010. This fall, overall enrollment at those campuses fell about 2%, but the decline in first-year enrollment was more steep: 8.4%, or 578 students.

At just the 12 campuses under consideration for closing — Beaver, DuBois, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and York — enrollment has slid 39%, or 3,222 students, from 2014 to 2024, the university said. Penn State’s overall enrollment fell by only 4% during that time, and University Park’s enrollment alone increased by 5%.

“It has become clear that we cannot sustain a viable Commonwealth Campus ecosystem without closing some campuses,” Bendapudi said in February, announcing the closure plan under which no campuses will shut before the end of the 2026-27 year.

When Bendapudi announced that plan, she said she expected to make a final decision on which campuses to close before spring commencement.

But last week, she said the announcement of the decision would not come until after commencement ceremonies, which are scheduled May 9 to 11.

“Final exams and commencement are rapidly approaching — activities of great significance for our entire community,“ she wrote. ”My team has consulted with students, faculty, and staff on the timing of any announcements, and I agree with their broad recommendation to hold until after these milestone events.”

The three Commonwealth campuses in the Philadelphia region — Brandywine, Abington, and the graduate education-focused campus at Great Valley — will not be considered for closure, Bendapudi said in February. They are among the system’s largest. The others that also are among the largest and are safe from closure are Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley, Bendapudi said.

The other 12 campuses are being evaluated by a team led by several top administrators appointed by Bendapudi.

» READ MORE: Penn State’s Commonwealth campus leader is preparing to leave amid closure discussions

Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for Commonwealth campuses and one of three people heading that team, announced last month that she would be leaving the system this summer to become provost and vice president of academic affairs at the College of New Jersey.

Though the campuses have lost a lot of enrollment, the drop has been flattening, the trustees said in their letter, urging Bendapudi to give them more time.

“We are calling for this administration and this board to look a while longer, to look for innovative solutions before making legacy decisions that will have impacts lasting long after we are gone,” said the letter, also signed by trustee emeritus Alice Pope, former trustee Randy Houston, and former alumni council member Jeff Ballou.

Rodino-Colocino, the Penn State AAUP president, also urged administrators to look for other solutions, noting its strong position financially “with net liquid reserve assets topping $5 billion.”

Carla Chamberlin, a professor of applied linguistics at Penn State Abington, said: “I believe Penn State needs to take a longer look at what needs to be done. Are there alternate pathways?”

Some of her students at Penn State Abington work full-time jobs and are raising children, she said.

“That is the mission of Penn State, to serve a wide population of students, not just those who can afford to go to University Park,” she said.