Penn State Wilkes-Barre will close in two years, the university’s board of trustees decided Thursday night.
During a virtual meeting, the board voted 25-8 to follow recommendations of the administration, closing seven Commonwealth Campuses: DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York.
Other campuses that had been reviewed but not recommended for closure — Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Schuylkill and Scranton — will remain open.
“Maintaining the status quo is not sustainable,” President Neeli Bendapudi told the board before the vote.
Keeping all the campuses open would be “subsidizing decline at the expense of growth,” she said.
The seven campuses set for closure after the spring 2027 semester have seen a 43% decline in enrollment over the last decade. Wilkes-Barre had 329 students as of fall 2024. Over 10 years, the campus has experienced a 46% drop in enrollment. The campus lost $2 million in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the report.
Wilkes-Barre sits 23 miles from the Scranton campus and 38 miles from the Hazleton campus. The university recommends that Penn State Scranton serve as a primary anchor for the region going forward.
Faculty contracts and tenure will be honored, and navigation coaches will help students transition to other campuses, Bendapudi said.
Trustee Matt McGloin, the former Penn State quarterback and former Lackawanna County commissioner, said he struggled with the decision. He ultimately voted in favor of the closures.
“I’m confident it will provide a responsible path forward for the university and the Commonwealth Campus system as a whole,” he said.
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