Penn State campus closures spark debate over future

Penn State’s commonwealth campus closure debate centers on finances, shifting enrollment patterns and the challenge of governance. University leaders have recommended that seven smaller campuses close, while larger locations like Abington and Harrisburg will remain open and invested in. With nothing final until the board of trustees votes, faculty and staff continue to face uncertainty. It comes after a recent voluntary buyout program reduced personnel across the system.

Faculty members are organizing a union, and the AAUP urged administration to keep all campuses funded to serve diverse students. Meanwhile, questions about transparency and decision-making complicate how and when these changes will be decided.

People walk across Old Main lawn on the Penn State campus. By Abby Drey

NO. 1: HERE’S A LOOK AT HOW EACH PENN STATE COMMONWEALTH CAMPUS WAS AFFECTED BY BUYOUTS

Some campuses lost more than 30% of staff to the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program. | Published July 10, 2024 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

Students walk along Pollock Road and past Old Main on the Penn State campus on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. By Abby Drey

NO. 2: MORE BUDGET CUTS PLANNED FOR PENN STATE’S COMMONWEALTH CAMPUSES AS PART OF 2026-27 ALLOCATIONS

Individual campus budgets won’t be finalized until later this year. | Published February 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

Masked students walk along Curtin Road past the Nittany Lion Shrine on the Penn State University Park campus onT Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. By Abby Drey

NO. 3: PENN STATE WILL KEEP LARGEST COMMONWEALTH CAMPUSES OPEN, EXPLORE CLOSURES FOR OTHERS

“We have exhausted reasonable alternatives to maintain the current number of campuses,” President Neeli Bendapudi wrote in a statement. | Published February 25, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

Pedestrians walk behind Old Main on the Penn State campus on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. By Abby Drey

NO. 4: ‘LONG OVERDUE.’ PENN STATE FACULTY MEMBERS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF UNIONIZING

“The issues are structural; as such they can only be addressed through structural changes that will come with an empowered faculty. If anything, a faculty union is long overdue,” a website for the Penn State Faculty Alliance states. | Published February 27, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

Old Main on Penn State’s University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania. By Georgianna Sutherland

NO. 5: FINAL SAY ON PENN STATE CAMPUS CLOSURES MIGHT NOT INVOLVE THE UNIVERSITY’S GOVERNING BOARD

Penn State could close up to 12 of its 20 commonwealth campuses. It’s unclear what authority the Board of Trustees has in approving the university president’s plan. | Published March 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Wyatt Massey of Spotlight PA State College

The bell tower of Old Main on the Penn State University Park campus on Thursday, March 13, 2025. By Abby Drey

NO. 6: PENN STATE’S VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMONWEALTH CAMPUSES WILL LEAVE ROLE THIS SUMMER

Her last day at Penn State will be June 30, after an expected decision on which commonwealth campuses will close. | Published March 25, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

The lion shrine at Penn State Mont Alto.

NO. 7: PENN STATE PRESIDENT ADDRESSES COMMUNITY, RELEASES REPORT AFTER CAMPUS PROPOSAL LEAKS

The board of trustees still need to approve the campus closure plan before anything is final. | Published May 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

Soon to be graduates take photos at the Pennsylvania State University sign along Park Avenue on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. By Abby Drey

NO. 8: PENN STATE AAUP CALLS ON ADMINISTRATION TO KEEP COMMONWEALTH CAMPUSES OPEN

“Penn State AAUP finds the administration derelict in its duty to the students, faculty, staff, and community members of the Commonwealth when it announced statewide campus closures.” | Published April 24, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

Old Main on Penn State’s University Park campus By Abby Drey

NO. 9: HOW PENN STATE TRUSTEES PLAN TO VOTE ON CAMPUS CLOSURES COULD RUN AFOUL OF TRANSPARENCY LAW

The Penn State Board of Trustees plans to gather in a virtual-only meeting in May to decide the fate of 12 commonwealth campuses. University President Neeli Bendapudi will propose which of the campuses to close. | Published May 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Wyatt Massey of Spotlight PA State College

The Lion Shrine, in the foreground, on the Penn State DuBois campus outside the entrance of the PAW Center, which is visible in the background.

NO. 10: STRESS, UNCERTAINTY MARK END OF PENN STATE SEMESTER AS CAMPUS CLOSURE DECISION LOOMS

The faculty senate chair characterized morale as “far lower” than it was during the Sandusky scandal. | Published May 10, 2025 | Read Full Story by Halie Kines

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.