Editorial: Penn State needs to be open about closing campuses

Penn State leaders are proposing the shuttering of seven Commonwealth Campuses.

The idea has been on the table since February. It would be brought up in May, it was suggested.

But the May meeting of the board of trustees falls in a sweet spot between the annual Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium one weekend and spring semester graduation the next. It’s deliberate, putting trustees in town to participate in graduation events.

In April, university President Neeli Bendapudi said the announcement would not be made then, pushing it back until later so as not to disrupt graduation. It would come “mid-May” instead.

“Mid-May” ended up being Thursday, with a virtual meeting just days after graduation weekend. Now the plan is being changed again. Instead of a public meeting, the trustees will have an executive session.

That comes after information about the closings disseminated to the board were leaked to, and published Monday by, the Philadelphia Inquirer. It reported seven of the 12 campuses on the chopping block have been recommended for closing, including Fayette and New Kensington. Spotlight PA subsequently confirmed the report, obtaining documents it says claims more than 500 employees would be affected.

Penn State issued a statement about the Inquirer report, not denying the information but expressing disappointment that “our communities who may be impacted … are hearing information before a final decision.”

That may be the most accurately worded statement ever.

University leaders are not backing away from the proposal. They are unhappy that a decision that will impact generations of Pennsylvania students and communities across the state is being revealed before it is too late.

“There is significant information in the full recommendation which will be shared following a board vote,” trustees chair David Kleppinger said.

If the information is that significant, share it now.

If there is data that will support a decision and make people happy to have their children borrow money to pay an additional $7,500 per semester, show it. That is $30,000 over the cost of two years at a branch campus or $60,000 if they pursue a full four-year degree there.

Spotlight PA quoted internal records quoting Bendapudi as saying the network of campuses “subsidizes decline.”

No. It supports the idea that education is a valuable cog in the daily life of Pennsylvanians.

The university will release additional information about a public meeting after Thursday’s online closed-door conclave, the statement says. Spokesman Wyatt DuBois says the executive session is at the request of board members who want “more time to examine and discuss the recommendation.”

That’s nice. They aren’t alone. There are plenty of people who would like to “examine and discuss the recommendation.” They include the people where these campuses are located, the families who have paid tuition and the Pennsylvanians whose tax money has gone to decades of appropriations.

The Commonwealth Campus system was designed — and sold to citizens — as a way to spread the benefits of the land grant university to every corner of the state. If that has to change, it needs to be done openly, or Penn State risks losing not only the tuition of the students but also the trust of the people.