On Thursday, Penn State University’s president announced a delay in making decisions to close some Commonwealth campuses, including the one in DuBois.
Neeli Bendapudi previously said that a decision would be made by the end of the spring semester, but now, in an email to university staff, that decision won’t be made until mid-May
But Clearfield County leaders aren’t waiting and are trying to rally support for the DuBois campus.
Penn State DuBois, along with several other Penn State campuses, are facing uncertainty since the announcement of potential closures.
All three Clearfield County commissioners sat down to highlight why Penn State DuBois is essential to the higher education and economic development of the region.
In February, Penn State announced the possible closing of some satellite campuses, due to declining enrollment and financial pressures.
Penn State DuBois is among the list of campuses considered for closure.
Since the announcement, Clearfield County commissioners say they have been actively advocating to keep the campus operational.
“There’s been a very concentrated group effort, a lot of it behind the scenes, a lot of conversations, trying to do anything we can to tie the community together and get the support so they can show that the support does exist for DuBois campus,” said commissioner Tim Winters.
The commissioners say they and other government leaders have lobbied state lawmakers, the governor and Penn State directly to save the campus.
They cited the campus’s many contributions to the city of DuBois, as well as the area as a whole, on why it shouldn’t close.
“I mean, they’ve got the sporting events, the community uses the facility for a lot of different things, fundraisers, meetings. In fact, the city of DuBois is having their meetings on campus now because it’s the best location for them. There’s just so many reasons as to why it would be very detrimental to DuBois, and the whole entire region,”
They say Penn State DuBois and other satellite campus closures could be part of a bigger trend of de-prioritization on rural Pennsylvania.
“They’re missing the ability to develop rural Pennsylvania, develop these resources, and make a better Pennsylvania by continuing with this policy of ignoring the rural areas,” said commissioner John Sobel.
State lawmakers and supporters of Penn State DuBois argue that the campus is an economic engine, and an important part of the community’s fabric.