Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi announced today that she has created a working group to bring her a final recommendation on the future composition of the Commonwealth Campus ecosystem.

“As I have said many times before, Penn State’s Commonwealth Campus ecosystem is essential to fulfilling our land-grant mission,” said Bendapudi. “I believe deeply in the role our campuses play in serving Pennsylvania communities, providing access to education, and driving economic opportunity across the state.

“At the same time, we must acknowledge the realities before us. We cannot continue with business as usual. The challenges we face — declining enrollments, demographic shifts and financial pressures — are not unique to Penn State, but they require us to make difficult choices. Across higher education, institutions are grappling with similar headwinds, and we have reached a moment where doing nothing is no longer an option.”

The University’s commonwealth campuses include:

• Abington
• Altoona
• Beaver
• Berks
• Brandywine
• DuBois
• Erie
• Fayette (Eberly Campus)
• Great Valley
• Greater Allegheny
• Harrisburg
• Hazleton
• Lehigh Valley
• Mont Alto
• New Kensington
• Schuylkill
• Shenango
• Scranton
• Wilkes-Barre
• York

“We have made enhancements in enrollment management, fought for parity in state funding, and sought new ways to expand access,” continued Bendapudi. “Yet, despite these efforts, enrollment at many of our Commonwealth Campuses continues to decline, and many of the counties that host these campuses are expected to decrease in population for the next 30 years. Given these realities, we must make hard decisions now to ensure Penn State’s future remains strong. It has become clear that we cannot sustain a viable Commonwealth Campus ecosystem without closing some campuses.”

She affirmed in a letter to the Penn State community that the seven largest Commonwealth Campuses – Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley – along with our graduate education-focused campus at Great Valley, would remain open. Bendapudi also stated that the special-mission campuses — Penn State Dickinson Law, the College of Medicine and the Pennsylvania College of Technology — are not part of this process and would continue to operate as they are.

Bendapudi was adamant in her letter that no campus identified for closure would close before the end of the 2026-27 academic year, and that every student who begins a Penn State degree would have the opportunity to complete it at the institution.

The president wrote that Penn State has made a case before the General Assembly for state funding parity, “but no significant increases have materialized.”

It is anticipated that the working group will deliver its recommendation to Bendapudi by the end of the spring semester with the president expecting “to make a final decision before spring commencement.” Classes end at the University Park campus on May 2 with graduation ceremonies slated for May 9-11.

“Penn State has adapted and evolved for 170 years,” her letter concluded. “The decisions we make now will position the University for another century of academic, research and service excellence. This is about strengthening Penn State’s Commonwealth Campus ecosystem so that it can continue to thrive, in a form that aligns with today’s realities.