Penn State Branch Campuses Slated For Closure Identified: Report

PENNSYLVANIA — Penn State officials say a final decision has yet to be made on which of its branch campuses will be closing, but they did not deny a report Monday that university president Neeli Bendapudi is recommending shuttering seven of them.

The university released a statement late Monday saying that Bendapudi will meet with university trustees in an executive session Thursday to discuss the closure plan and that more information will be released following that meeting.

"The Board of Trustees, who must meet and hold a public vote on this matter, have not done so," the release stated. "Until then, no decision regarding any campus is final."

Board of Trustees Chair David Kleppinger termed the disclosure of the seven campuses likely to close "disheartening."

"I find it deeply frustrating that someone with early access to this recommendation decided to share it with the media with absolutely no regard for how this information would impact members of our campus communities," he said. "Our students, faculty and staff deserve better.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the university administration is recommending the closure of the Dubois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses. They are among the dozen of the 20 branch campuses that initially were studied for closure along with Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Schuykill and Scranton.

According to enrollment statistics on the university's website, the seven campuses slated to close had 3,200 students during the fall semester. All have experienced enrollment declines of as much as 32 percent over the past five years.

Penn State's seven largest branch campuses – Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley – along with the graduate focused campus at Great Valley, will remain open. Those campuses compose nearly 75 percent of total branch campus enrollments and 67 percent of campus faculty and staff.

Additionally, three special mission campuses — Penn State Dickinson Law, the College of Medicine and the Pennsylvania College of Technology — will continue to operate as they are.