Robert Arbuckle has myriad suggestions for what Penn State could do to combat declining enrollment and financial issues at its branch campuses.
None of them include closing campuses.
“You have to use your imagination and be creative,” said Arbuckle, who was the Upper Burrell college’s CEO from 1977 to 1992. “There are alternatives that are more productive to the university than closing these campuses.”
University administrators in February announced that 12 out of Penn State’s 19 Commonwealth Campuses — including Beaver, Fayette, Greater Allegheny and New Kensington — could close after the 2026-27 school year because of declining enrollment and finances.
But in Arbuckle’s opinion, Penn State would be making a major mistake by closing the campuses.
As a land grant university, “that’s what these campuses were created to do.”
Possibilities
Arbuckle, 85, of Plum envisions that the Southwestern Pennsylvania campuses could be specialized.
New Kensington, for example, is prime for a technology hub, from its work with the Digital Foundry, a business development service, and The Corner, an entrepreneur training center and co-working space. The Fayette campus is a logical location for a focus on agriculture or agribusiness.
Greater Allegheny, near McKeesport, is prime for an urban focus — with programs centered on business administration, social services or marketing. Beaver could tap into the nearby Pittsburgh International Airport and create programming to boost that industry, or supplement urban-related programs with McKeesport, Arbuckle said.
Arbuckle also suggested eliminating dormitories at the branch campuses as a way to save money.
When Arbuckle left Penn State New Kensington, he became president of Lake Superior State University in Michigan from 1992 until his retirement in 2002. There, he noted, the university worked with labor unions to offer credit for apprenticeship training and skilled craftsmanship.
Arbuckle also fears closing branch campus won’t win Penn State any favors from state lawmakers. The university relies on the state for a good portion of its appropriations. Closing campuses could negatively impact that in politicians’ minds, he said.
He sent letters to Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi outlining his suggestions.
“She said she would take it into consideration,” he said.
Meeting a need
During Arbuckle’s tenure, three degree programs were added at New Kensington in the 1980s: a bachelor’s in electromechanical engineering technology, an associate in radiology sciences and an associate in biomedical engineering technology.
“We added these programs in response to community need,” he said.
Carl Tutak, a 2016 Penn State New Kensington grad, is radiology operations manager at Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital. He estimates about half of his staff are PSNK graduates from the radiology program.
If PSNK were to close, “there would be even more of a technician shortage than there is now,” Tutak said. “Almost every student who graduates now is offered a position in the local area.
“There would be a serious impact not having these students in the area anymore.”
Westmoreland County business officials, from in-person forums or open letters, have warned of the negative impact that losing Penn State New Kensington could have on the local economy.
Closing Penn State New Kensington would lead to job loss, reduced local spending and a weakened workforce. A talent drain would result — young people who might have attended Penn State New Kensington would be forced to go elsewhere, possibly never returning to the region.
Penn State New Kensington’s radiological sciences program is one of two in the Pittsburgh region that is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology, Tutak said.
It’s the only location in the Penn State system that offers a degree in radiologic sciences.
“It’s a very demanding program: They require a lot out of you. But it feeds you everything you need, leadership-wise, to be able to move up and be successful,” Tutak said.
How did Penn State get here?
Penn State New Kensington’s enrollment has declined 21% over the past five years. Its fall 2024 enrollment was 407 students.
University spokesman Wyatt DuBois said the Commonwealth Campuses follow a rolling admissions process, which means applications and admits will be processed throughout the summer. Numbers will be released in the fall.
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“As soon as Penn State said, ‘We’re thinking about closing the campus,’ what would you do if you were a young person looking for a college?” said Larry Pollock, who served as Penn State New Kensington’s chancellor from 2002 to 2008. “They almost dictated the outcome.”
Before becoming chancellor in 2002, Pollock, 88, of Washington Township spent three decades as Penn State New Kensington’s director of student affairs. He recalled that, in 1972, his role was to visit 30 to 40 high schools in the area.
But Penn State did not anticipate a decline in high school enrollment, he said.
“They misread what was coming,” he said. “They didn’t adjust the programs to meet the needs. The population in Western Pennsylvania — really, all of Pennsylvania — the enrollment of young people is declining.”
A group of Penn State New Kensington professors organized an open letter to Penn State trustees in support of the Commonwealth Campuses. The letter notes that 25 years ago, the campuses were suffering because they’d been designed as locations only for two-year degree programs and 2 2 programs (two years at a branch campus followed by two at the University Park main campus).
“The result of growth challenges was to invest in these locations, to offer four-year degree programs,” the letter said. “Investment paid off, such that total enrollment across the 19 undergraduate campuses in 2011 included more than 25,000 students seeking baccalaureate degrees.”
But then, Penn State adopted “curricular integrity,” which limits the proliferation of multiple degrees that bear the same name. “Smaller campuses have had to rely on the goodwill of the few deans who opened up their portfolios to make available high-demand majors at locations other than University Park,” the letter said.
“We have known for a very long time that our own policies and processes have hindered the growth at Commonwealth Campuses, and yet no academic leadership has taken a stand to address these structural barriers.”
PSNK history
Arbuckle noted Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses were in place before the state had revived its community college system.
“In New Kensington’s case, it’s been very integrated with the renaissance of the City of New Kensington,” Arbuckle said. “These campuses wouldn’t be here without the support of the local communities, and that’s why they were created.”
Since the February announcement, local politicians, university faculty and students have spoken out against the closure, noting its accessibility and affordability for those wanting to pursue post-secondary education.
State Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, has said her understanding is Penn State plans to maintain its Digital Foundry business service.
Petitions and legislation in response to the proposed closures continue to circulate across the state. Some trustees have spoken out, too.
To Pollock, the 2002-08 chancellor, it’s a “tossup” regarding what will happen to Penn State New Kensington. There are many unknowns, he said — such as what would happen with the campus, or money for PSNK endowed scholarships.
“I would guess right now the decision’s been made,” he said, although he’s not sure what exactly that looks like.
Arbuckle has the same train of thought.
“It’s hard to tell. The university is non-committed at this time. All of us dedicated to Penn State are urging them to reconsider, but I can’t tell you where she’s going to go.”