Penn State staff, faculty at closing campuses to be offered ‘priority hiring consideration’
.jpeg "Old Main on Penn State’s University Park campus")
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State will offer staff, faculty at closing campuses hiring priority on jobs.
- Job postings begin with seven-day window exclusive to affected campus employees.
- Seniority assures interview rights for staff; faculty receive priority review.
Starting Tuesday, Penn State plans to implement a new process that offers “priority hiring consideration” to staff and non-tenure-line faculty at closing campuses who are seeking new positions within the university.
According to a news release issued by the university, all eligible job postings will first begin with a seven-day application period that will be available only to staff and faculty impacted by the impending commonwealth campus closures. Two virtual information sessions — one for staff and one for faculty — will take place Monday, before the process goes into effect Tuesday.
Penn State’s board of trustees last month approved the closure of seven commonwealth campuses, with many facing challenges such as declining enrollment. They will officially close at the end of the spring 2027 semester, and those impacted include DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York.
Although the university has not yet directly addressed the potential number of layoffs — it remains early in the process — it has also said it hopes to “minimiz(e) the impact on our people to the greatest extent possible.”
For staff at the closing campuses, that new process means the applicant with the most seniority is “assured” of an interview if they apply via Workday during that seven-day window. According to the university, if the applicant is not hired, the next-most senior qualified applicant would be interviewed, and the process will then continue until one is selected or all such applicants are exhausted.
“Only then may other candidates be considered,” the release stated.
A similar process will be in place for non-tenure-line faculty, although the university appeared to stop just short of guaranteeing interviews. Faculty applicants from closing campuses will instead “receive priority consideration for an interview for the academic opportunity” during the seven-day window, per the release. Such faculty applicants will be reviewed, and a decision made, before others are considered.
“Across Penn State, this is an opportunity to develop and leverage new processes to support as many impacted Commonwealth Campus employees as possible, while continuing to meet the University’s diverse hiring needs,” Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer, said in a written statement.
Since the announcement that some campuses would close, faculty members said employee morale hit an all-time low, and this past semester was riddled with stress and uncertainty as they waited to hear which campuses would close. After the recommendation report was released, students and faculty were still frustrated with the process and lack of transparency.
For more information on Penn State’s future, or for FAQs on campus closures, visit roadmap.psu.edu.
CDT reporter Halie Kines contributed to this report
