Here’s what Gov. Shapiro, Pa. officials said about Penn State’s campus closures
Penn State’s decision to close seven of its commonwealth campuses Thursday has sent shockwaves throughout the state, with many elected officials and faculty members disappointed in the decision.
The board of trustees approved closing DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses following the spring 2027 semester.
During an event in Philadelphia on Friday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has confidence in Penn State’s leadership.
“They know they need to right size. They know they need to plan for the long-term future, and to do that, they needed to make these tough choices,” Shapiro said. “And I have faith in Neeli Bendapudi and her administration and the board who made those decisions. I also know that when a school like Penn State, a satellite campus, leaves a community that can leave a big hole, and so my administration is committed to working with Penn State and those local affected communities to make sure they are taken care of going forward.”
Bendapudi said Thursday the university will continue investing in the remaining 13 campuses, and will “immediately” begin working to repurpose the seven closing campuses. She stressed Penn State will continue to have an active presence across Pennsylvania. Penn State Extension has a presence in every Pennsylvania county, and the university will continue to invest in the entrepreneurial-minded Invent Penn State launch boxes.
Still, the loss of a campus will greatly affect local communities. The Centre Daily Times reached out to elected officials and faculty members at the closing campuses to hear their thoughts on the closures. Read their responses below, which have been edited for clarity and length.
Centre County officials
U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R- Howard
“Penn State abandoned its mission to provide educational opportunities to the people of the Commonwealth by shuttering the DuBois campus. This shortsighted decision will have lasting consequences and I remain disappointed by the university’s lack of vision. We should be working to expand educational opportunities and reimagine what is possible at the DuBois campus.”
State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township
“It is a sad day for the Commonwealth. I wish there could be a path forward that would keep all the branch campuses open. Hopefully, the university will tailor a plan moving forward that will not negatively impact educational opportunities, not only for recent high school graduates but for those who need retraining to enter the workforce. A plan that also takes into consideration the workers at those branch locations that have given many years of service. We need to strive to make higher education more affordable and accessible. I look forward to assisting Penn State in that mission.”
State Sen. Wayne Langerholc, Jr., R-Richland Township
“I am deeply dismayed that all of the advocacy and education of the significant benefit of Penn State DuBois have fallen on deaf ears. For multiple years, this institution embraced the mantra and model of Penn State and produced students who contribute to the local workforce, drive economic activity, and make our region and Commonwealth stronger. Today that relationship was broken. I am committed to working with my colleagues in the House to identify an entity that appreciates our rural area and will take the broken baton to repair and strengthen our community. Our resilience, dedication and strong work ethic will win in the long run. We will meet the challenges in the face of change.”
Michelle Rodino-Colocino, Penn State Chapter President, American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
“Working class people of Pennsylvania and the U.S. took a massive hit yesterday. The Penn State Board of Trustees voted to close seven commonwealth campuses. The U.S. House passed a budget bill that will gut Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and more. The most economically vulnerable in Pa. and across the U.S. will suffer. Both votes were split. But budget priorities that hurt working class and low-income individuals, families and communities won out. The hardest hit will bear the burdens.
“Now it’s time for faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members, businesses and legislators to come together to defend working people and Penn State’s land-grant commitment to them. Communities organized at Hampshire, Guilford, Evergreen, University of Maine at Farmington and more to keep their campuses open after their boards voted to close them. The Penn State and national AAUP, the union efforts of PSFA/SEIU 668, commonwealth campus groups doing this work are just a start. We need to come together with others to keep campuses open.
“Higher education is a public good. Let’s get to work to keep it so.”
Officials, faculty near commonwealth campuses
State Rep. Michael Armanini, R-DuBois (near Penn State DuBois)
“Our region surrounding Penn State DuBois is a hub of manufacturing businesses that include the PM, carbon and graphite industries. These industries underpin numerous critical supply chains across the United States and represent a significant asset now and in the future for the Commonwealth. Not only does this decision impact the students of Penn State DuBois, it impacts our communities. The campus provides jobs to residents of DuBois and the surrounding community, income for local businesses who rely on the student body and faculty, and the local industry which benefits from the research of the school and has a talented pool of students to employ after graduation. These closures disenfranchise young students, moving the accessibility of a great educational institution from their backyard to communities much farther away and make the cost of education for them more expensive and difficult.”
State Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa, R-Springhill Township (near Penn State Fayette)
“... This decision is deeply disappointing, and Penn State’s leadership should be ashamed of abandoning the rural students, families and communities they were founded to serve. It is especially offensive that the university continues to request hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars each year — including from the people of Fayette County — while turning its back on us.
“To every student, professor, staff member, alumnus and community member who spoke out, showed up and rallied to defend this campus — thank you. Your efforts were powerful and inspiring. And a very special thank-you to the board of trustees members who voted no — who saw the value in investing in our commonwealth campuses, stood against this rushed decision and chose to fight for rural Pennsylvania. You had the courage to lead when it mattered most.”
Elaine Barry, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State Fayette
“I am deeply saddened and hurt to hear Fayette campus will be closing. I’ve spent 25 years of my life teaching there, moving halfway across the country for the job. My heart breaks for the students we have now and their concerns, for the students we will never get to have and for all of us who have given our lives to our jobs at the campus.
“I’ve seen firsthand the difference we make to students’ lives and futures. It seems to be a rushed and premature decision, really only coming about in the past six months. My biggest concern is for this past year’s freshman class, who are promised ‘a Penn State degree’ but not at the campus they enrolled in. It feels like these students are not being treated in good faith.
“President Bendapudi has promised a two-year ‘teach-out’ before closing, but it is hard to understand why they would not have made that a three-year process so all students who came in before closures were announced could finish their degrees at their desired campus. It feels further proof that this relatively new administration still does not understand the campus model and treats us as if we were all 2+2 campuses rather than offering our own bachelor’s degrees to underserved populations who likely otherwise would not have the opportunity for a degree. Without Penn State Fayette, families in the county will not have access to a four-year degree nearby, and that is a tragedy.”
Julio Palma, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Penn State Fayette
“Yesterday will be remembered as one of the saddest days in Penn State’s history. The board of trustees voted to approve a deeply flawed report from President Bendapudi recommending the closure of seven commonwealth campuses.
“As a faculty member, I give that report a failing grade. It did not offer a compelling, evidence-based rationale. Instead, it attempted to justify decisions that appear to have already been made. The logic was inconsistent — metrics used to validate the survival of some campuses were used to condemn others. It lacked transparency and integrity.
“The report also misrepresented the input of the workgroup. We now know that the workgroup provided three lists: campuses to keep open, campuses to close and campuses where no consensus was reached. Yet even those in the ‘no consensus’ category are being closed. The absence of agreement should have been cause for pause, not justification for elimination.
“Something extremely disturbing was the way some board members praised the report despite its contradictions, omissions and misleading framing. That praise was deeply insulting to the students, employees and communities that will be affected by the vote.
“I am grateful to the eight trustees who voted against this shortsighted proposal. May 22 marks a betrayal of Penn State’s land-grant mission. A small group of financially privileged individuals chose to limit educational access for thousands of working-class and low-income students. Once again, the will of the wealthy prevails at the expense of opportunity and equity.”
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin (near Penn State Mont Alto)
“Penn State’s decision to close the satellite campuses 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. The university has more than enough financial resources to continue operating its satellite campuses, ensuring local students have access to quality education.”
Melba Amador, Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish at Penn State New Kensington
“I can tell you that everyone I have spoken to about this has said the same: We are heartbroken. I am heartbroken for my campus, my students and my colleagues. I am disappointed in the board of trustees, and in Bendapudi and her sidekicks, who just see dollar signs but not human beings. Education, like government, is not a business. “
Harry Haas, Luzerne County Councilman (near Penn State Wilkes-Barre)
“I am disappointed to learn of the closure of the PSU Wilkes-Barre campus by the university’s board of trustees.
“I acknowledge the members had to make some very heart-wrenching choices given the budget situation; however, this decision to close will undermine the local workforce investment, economy and quality of life in Luzerne County, and it will ultimately trickle down to decreasing the number of local high school graduates who aim to finish their degrees at State College after getting started at a comfortable local campus. Perhaps evaluating and streamlining the university’s programs of study, adding value to a PSU diploma and modernizing a collegiate education in the age of AI would have been a more helpful endeavor by the board than scrapping the entire operations of seven campuses across the state. ...”
Julie Wheeler, President Commissioner, York County (near Penn State York)
“Penn State University has been a leading educational and cultural voice in York for nearly a century, with the York campus growing and evolving with the greater York community. Today, Penn State York is one of our community’s vibrant education and cultural hubs, with more than 700 students enrolled in its academic degree programs, hundreds of older adults engaged in the university’s OLLI lifelong learning program and thousands of visitors to events at the Pullo Center every year.
“The announced closure of Penn State York is a terrible loss for the entire York County community, and we hope the board of trustees will reconsider. While we are sad to see the end of the Penn State York campus, we are also optimistic about the future. We are fortunate to have strong education partners in York College of Pennsylvania and HACC, which continue to educate and train the next generation of talented leaders. ... This is another opportunity for reinvention, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders across our community as we continue our work of building a better, stronger and more vibrant York County.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM.
