NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. —
Penn State says it intends to close some of the university's campuses, a list that could potentially include locations in western Pennsylvania.
While no decision has been announced, the futures of four local campuses — Greater Allegheny in McKeesport, New Kensington, Beaver and Fayette — are all in doubt.
A final decision is expected before spring commencement, according to a message from Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi that was posted online Tuesday.
VIDEO ABOVE: Sky 4 flies over the Penn State New Kensington campus in Westmoreland County
Bendapudi identified seven campuses that she says will remain open — Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg and Lehigh Valley.
Bendapudi said those campuses, along with Great Valley, which will also remain open, make up nearly 75% of total Commonwealth Campus enrollments and 67% of faculty and staff.
A group of Penn State leadership will recommend by the end of this semester which of the remaining 12 campuses should stay open and which should be closed.
"While it is clear that not all 12 campuses can continue, it is equally clear that a number of them will," Bendapudi said.
Penn State says new students will continue to be admitted at all locations this fall, and no campus will be closed before the end of the 2026-27 school year.
"Every student who begins a Penn State degree will have the opportunity to complete it at Penn State," the statement said.
Which Penn State campuses could be closed?
Why is Penn State closing some campuses?
State funding and a decline in enrollment at satellite campuses were cited as reasons for the closures.
"We have exhausted reasonable alternatives to maintain the current number of campuses. We now must move forward with a structure that is sustainable, one that allows our strongest campuses — where we can provide our students with the best opportunities for success and engagement — to thrive, while we make difficult but necessary decisions about others," the statement said.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 spoke with students at the Greater Allegheny campus in McKeesport to get their thoughts on the school potentially closing.
"I don’t know what's going on right now. They’re kind of leaving us up in the air," senior Bryce Phillips said. "We need some type of clarification."
Phillips wasn’t alone in feeling unsure about what the future holds for Greater Allegheny.
"I’m a little worried I might have to switch schools, but I don't know," said Jermalle Leonce, who moved from Florida to play soccer at Greater Allegheny.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 also visited Lower Burrell, where the thought of losing Penn State New Kensington is worrying some community members.
"I think it’s a very sad day to hear that," Lower Burrell resident Nancy Showalter told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
"I think it’s going to be hard on a lot of people because then they’re going to have to spend more money to take and send their kids to another school," said James Baker, the father of a Penn State New Kensington alum.
Bendapudi said she will receive a final recommendation no later than the end of the semester and expects to have a decision on the closures before spring commencement.
Local graduate shares concerns about campus closures
"Generation after generation after generation of trustees and presidents and their teams simply fell asleep at the switch," Jeff Ballou said.
Ballou, a Penn State graduate who is running for a seat on the board of trustees, told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that he is concerned about the possible campus closures.
"The heart and soul of Penn State — what was called a land-grant mission to educate the daughters and sons of the working class of the commonwealth," Ballou said. "And when you pull up those campuses, you abandon that mission."
Ballou spent his first two years at the Penn State Greater Allegheny campus in McKeesport — one of 12 campuses that could potentially be shut down.
If the local campuses are closed, Ballou said, "Southwestern Pennsylvania will not have a campus in its service area — no Beaver, no Greater Allegheny."
He says there is still time to fix the situation.
"Let's reimagine this, and we can come out on the other side of this potentially, and hopefully, God willing, a newer, brighter, more innovative, more fleet-of-foot Penn State that can still be, somehow, 30 miles from every household in the commonwealth," Ballou said.
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