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The Penn State Chapter of the American Association of University Professors on Wednesday sent a letter to university President Neeli Bendapudi and the university's board of directors objecting to the proposed closure of some of the 12 smallest of the university's 19 commonwealth campuses.
Penn State Altoona and the other six largest commonwealth campuses are not at risk of closing.
None of the potential shutdowns among the DuBois, Greater Allegheny, Fayette, Hazleton, Mont Alto, New Kensinghton, Schuylkill, Shanango, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses are justified, given the university's "financial strength, commitment to serving students from underrepresented backgrounds" and the closure's prospective violation of AAUP tenets related to closures and shared governance, according to a news release from AAUP President Michelle Rodino-Colocino, associate professor of film, video and media studies at the College of Communications in University Park.
"Far from experiencing a crisis, Penn State is financially strong, with net liquid reserve assets topping $5 billion (not donor-restricted and not in buildings and equipment) last year, with net asset growth over the past three decades, annual operating profits in hundreds of millions, steady and increasing enrollment and stellar credit ratings," the letter to university leadership states.
Seeking to close the campuses while in such satisfactory financial condition violates the association's "principles for campus closure, (which would favor closures) only (in) a 'demonstrably bona fide' condition of financial exigency that 'threatens the economic integrity of the institution as a whole,'" the letter states.
Not including faculty in discussions of such closures also violates the association's tenets, according to the letter.
Moreover, the proposed closures "threaten to roll back recent improvements in serving students from underrepresented backgrounds -- Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander," the letter states.
The university administration has proposed the closures due to declining enrollments, demographic shifts and financial pressures.
Enrollment has continued to shrink at many of the commonwealth campuses; many of the ones being considered for closure are in counties where populations are projected to decline over the next three decades; and pleas to the state for funding increases have been unsuccessful, stated Bendapudi in a message to the university community in February.
Collective enrollment at the 12 campuses being considered for closure has decreased by 39% over the past decade, although overall enrollment has decreased by only 4% -- and at University Park, it has increased by 5%, according to the March update.
The projected population shrinkage in Pennsylvania is concentrated in rural counties -- with an overall 5.8% decline in such counties by 2050, according to a March update from the university administration.
Because Pennsylvania is among states with the highest number of postsecondary institutions per capita in the U.S., "colleges and universities are vying for the same dwindling population," according to the March update.
"We have exhausted reasonable alternatives to maintain the current number of campuses," Bendapudi wrote. "We now must move forward with a structure that is sustainable, one that allows our strongest campuses ... to thrive."
Bendapudi has suggested that Penn State should continue to maintain a presence in the northeastern part of the state and the Pittsburgh area.
The Board of Trustees will convene on May 8-9 and will consider Bendapudi's closure recommendations.
"(N)o decisions are final" until then, Bendapudi stated in an April update.
The professors association is urging "all faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members to come together to organize collectively" in opposition to the proposed closures, like several other colleges have done.
Two voicemails asking for comment from the strategic communications office at Penn State didn't elicit a response.