Meeting on Penn State campus closures scheduled next week

The fate of seven Penn State branch campuses — including New Kensington and Fayette — could be determined next Thursday.

The board of trustees will meet virtually 5 p.m. May 22 to consider the recommendation to close the New Kensington, Fayette, DuBois, Mont Alto, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses, according to a statement from Penn State.

The meeting will be livestreamed, and information on how to access it can be found at trustees.psu.edu/thursday-may-22-2025. A spokesman said public comment will be available at the board’s website, as it is for all public meetings.

In February, Penn State administration had announced that 12 of its 19 branch campuses would be considered for closure, mainly due to declining enrollment and finances. Its seven largest campuses — Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg and Lehigh Valley — were never considered for closure.

Five campuses originally considered for closure — Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazelton, Schuylkill and Scranton — were spared.

Penn State’s report released this week gave its reasoning for why it’s recommending to close those seven campuses.

Trustees were scheduled to review the plan in a closed-door meeting today.

In PSNK’s case, the university’s been unable to uniquely market itself in the Pittsburgh region, the report said. Challenges at Fayette are structural, the report said, and stem from regional population loss, economic distress and a limited demand for in-person education.

Faculty at those campuses, however, have challenged the statements in the report.

Keeping those seven campuses open would require an estimated $19 million annually for financial support, $21 million in annual overhead expense and more than $200 million in future infrastructure investments.

They enroll 3.6% of Penn State’s students, 3.4% of its faculty and 2.2% of its staff.