Penn State’s campus closures are official. What happens next for employees, students?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State approved closure of seven campuses, affecting students and staff.
- Union pledged to negotiate with university to address job impact for workers.
- University committed to student support, staff reassignment, and hiring priority.
Now that the Penn State board of trustees has officially approved closing seven commonwealth campuses across the state, plans are in motion to figure out what comes next for the university and its students and employees.
The board approved closing the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses Thursday evening.
The Teamsters Local 8 union, which represents more than 2,400 technical service employees across Penn State, including at the campuses, said in a social media post that they’ll “fight like hell” to make sure the voices of those affected are heard.
“Now that the decision has been finalized, we want to reaffirm that your Local Union leadership will fight like hell to make sure your voices are heard regarding the impact of the decision to close your campuses. We intend to bargain with the university over these impacts in hopes that we can soften the blow of this terrible decision for our members. We’ve got your backs every step of the way,” the union posted on Facebook. “We heard Bendapudi and the Trustees’ comments about supporting all staff employees through the transitions. We intend to do everything in our power to hold them to that commitment.”
University President Neeli Bendapudi pledged her support to the students, faculty and staff affected by the decision both during the board meeting and in a livestream after the vote.
“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
Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost, said the university will do all it can to support employees who want to continue their careers at Penn State. She said they are firmly committed to honoring tenure and respecting non-tenure line contracts.
“For tenure-line faculty (those who are tenured as well as those in their probationary period) at closing campuses, the University will offer need-driven reassignments to remaining campuses, including Commonwealth Campuses and University Park. For non-tenure-line faculty and for our staff employees, we will offer priority hiring consideration for those applying to open roles across Penn State locations,” she said in a release.
“Priority hiring consideration” means if an active, full-time staff employee at a closing campus applies for a full-time position within the first week of it being advertised, are in good standing and meet the minimum qualifications for the position, they will be offered an interview and hiring consideration based on seniority before other candidates. More information on this is expected to be released in the summer.
University leadership is discussing whether incentives will be offered to employees to stay at a campus until it closes, according to the Penn State Roadmap frequently asked questions.
For students, Bendapudi said “navigation coaches” have already started reaching out to students at closing campuses to answer questions and help connect them to university resources.
“I want to emphasize a key point. Specifically for our students, if you are at a campus that will close, you will have the opportunity to complete your Penn State degree, and we are hard at work to provide the support you need to help you progress toward your goals, including providing each and every one of you with a dedicated navigation coach throughout this process,” Bendapudi said during the livestream.
Campuses will close following the spring 2027 semester, so the two-year wind-down period will provide time for students currently enrolled, or enrolling for the fall 2025 semester, to complete or make progress toward their degrees, a news story published by the university states.
“With two academic years before closure, associate’s degree students will have the opportunity to complete their programs. Bachelor’s degree students can follow the University’s 2+2 Plan to begin at the campus where they initially enrolled and then transition to another Penn State campus at the end of the 2026-27 academic year,” the university said.
Students already admitted to a commonwealth campus for the fall 2025 semester can request to have their application considered for another campus but not for University Park.
More information is available on the Penn State Roadmap website and questions can be submitted there as well.
What role does the state play?
The governor’s administration will have “some technical oversight” of the campus closures, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said during an event in Philadelphia Friday.
“...They’re going to now be going through that process, now that the decision has been forwarded by the board. So Dr. (Carrie) Rowe, Secretary (Russell) Redding, and a few others, will be involved in that process,” he said.
He said he has confidence in the Penn State leadership who had to make the decision to close campuses.
Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois said earlier this week the university will work with accreditors to obtain approvals to stop instruction at closing campuses.
“The Middle States Commission on Higher Education requires notification six months before the official close date, which would occur in the fall 2026 semester under the current timeline,” DuBois said. “The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires notification by July 1 of the calendar year preceding the academic year for which discontinuance is requested.”
