Penn State branch campus closure announcement delayed

Upper Burrell Supervisor Ross G. Walker III hopes no news is good news.

The longtime township supervisor said that, since learning of the potential closure of his township’s Penn State New Kensington campus, he has not heard anything from Penn State administration regarding the school’s future.

“It could make you feel good,” he said. “Of course, no one’s heard anything. … The decision is out of our hands.

“We just have to wait.”

Walker — and seemingly the rest of the Penn State community — will have to wait a bit longer.

Penn State won’t announce which of its branch campuses will close until after the Class of 2025 graduates, university officials said Thursday.

University President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement that school administration will delay announcing plans for its Commonwealth Campus system until mid-May.

Twelve Penn State branch campuses statewide — including all Pittsburgh-area campuses, like Beaver, Fayette, New Kensington and Greater Allegheny — are on the potential chopping block because of finances, demographic shifts and declining enrollment, the university announced in February. No campus would close before the 2026-27 school year.

University officials had planned to reach a final decision on campus closures before Penn State’s spring commencement.

“Final exams and commencement are rapidly approaching — activities of great significance for our entire community,” Bendapudi’s statement said. “My team has consulted with students, faculty, and staff on the timing of any announcements, and I agree with their broad recommendation to hold until after these milestone events.”

Penn State’s board of trustees will plan to meet in mid-May to consider Bendapudi’s recommendations, she said. Decisions won’t be final until action is taken by the board.

Bendapudi said Penn State will share advance notice of the board’s public meeting date once scheduled. She will communicate with Penn State students and faculty immediately after the board meeting, the statement said.

Walker said that Penn State New Kensington closing would be bad for the township and the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Since late February, the New Kensington community has tried to raise awareness of the campus’ importance, citing its involvement with the revitalization of downtown New Kensington, business growth, its accessibility and affordability for students and its programming with local school districts.

“We’re all worried about it,” Walker said. “We don’t want to see it go.”

State Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, said she agreed with the decision to hold off the announcement until after graduation.

“It’s still not going to make it easier to the communities where campuses could close, but I think it’s better for students who are graduating to have that day untainted,” Cooper said.

Cooper said she had a call with Penn State administration Thursday where she was able to express Penn State New Kensington’s importance to the region.

She said she was assured that the Digital Foundry, a business development service, would continue to have a presence in the New Kensington area.

“They really didn’t give any indication of whether or not New Kensington would remain open or not, other than what they’ve said in the press, that they want to have some presence in the Pittsburgh region,” Cooper said.

The meeting “went as well as it could go,” Cooper said.

“They understand how critical it is to remain open,” she said.

Pavel Marin, a student at Penn State Greater Allegheny near McKeesport, said he wrote to Bendapudi in March expressing the importance of his campus, highlighting its programming, athletics and diversity.

He is also the student Chair of Government Affairs at Greater Allegheny. Marin told TribLive he would like to see Penn State make a decision that includes student input and explains the reasoning and metrics behind its decision. He said he would not be opposed to campuses merging.

“We have to be strategically smart,” he said.

A 2024 Taylor Allderdice High School graduate, Marin said Penn State Greater Allegheny has an important role in the community. He noted the college is the only Penn State campus where students can graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social work, which has become more important especially after the covid-19 pandemic.

“We serve the McKeesport community at its best,” he said. “There’s work that can be done.”