SHARON, Pa. – Penn State Shenango will close along with six other campuses after spring 2026-27.
Penn State trustees approved the closures by a 25-8 vote at a Thursday meeting.
“Collectively, the campuses slated for closure represent 3.6% of Penn State students, 3.4% of the University’s faculty and 2.2% of its total staff,” a statement on Penn State’s website said. “Even after this change, Penn State will continue to have the largest statewide footprint of any university in the Big Ten and any land-grant institution in the country, a reflection of the University’s ongoing commitment to its core mission to serve the citizens of the commonwealth.”
With 309 students, Penn State Shenango has the lowest enrollment of the 13 commonwealth campuses.
The other campuses to close are DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, Kensington, Wilkes-Barre and York.
“Under the plan, Penn State will continue strategic, long-term investment in the 13 remaining Commonwealth Campus locations, including Abington, Altoona, Beaver, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Great Valley, Greater Allegheny, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Schuylkill and Scranton,” the university’s statement said.
According to the recommendation by three Penn State executives to President Neeli Bendapudi, Penn State Shenango was recommended for closure due to steep and sustained enrollment decline, limited regional growth potential and high operational inefficiencies associated with its size and infrastructure.
“Our objective is to redefine how we approach our land-grant mission, and our Commonwealth Campuses are integral to that vision,” Bendapudi said in the university statement. “These recommendations, now ratified by the board, will allow our campuses to be competitive and responsive to the needs of students, employers and communities, particularly during times of great change in higher education, and in the face of demographic realities.”
She acknowledged the difficulty of change on students and staff.
“These were incredibly tough decisions, and we did not make them lightly,” the president said in the statement. “For many decades, our dedicated faculty and staff have educated thousands of students at these locations, and our graduates have gone on to make remarkable contributions to Pennsylvania, the country and the world.”
She said the university is developing transition plans for those affected by the closures.
The recommendation to Bendapudi said the Shenango campus has experienced a 46% decrease in enrollment over the past decade – “one of the most severe declines in the Commonwealth Campus ecosystem – and current indicators suggest continued contraction despite programmatic and recruitment interventions.”
It also pointed out that the region is facing what it called “some of the state’s most acute demographic and economic headwinds.
“Population loss, a shrinking college-age cohort, and persistent economic distress have all contributed to declining interest in and capacity for higher education participation in this location,” according to the recommendation.
Those conditions limit the potential for future enrollment stabilization, making the campus’s position untenable, the recommendation says.
“Operationally, Penn State Shenango is small, with a headcount and credit-hour base that cannot support a full-service campus infrastructure,” it said. “Fixed costs per student are high, and the campus relies heavily on central subsidies to maintain operations.”
It said that closing the campus, while difficult, is a “necessary recommendation that reflects Penn State’s broader strategic goal of aligning campus presence with long-term demographic, academic, and financial realities.”