HARRISBURG – Legislation has been introduced in response to Penn State’s branch campus closure announcements last week. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi shared plans to close a portion of 12 of the university’s commonwealth campuses in the face of enrollment and financial pressures. She clarified that their largest campuses outside of main campus, which include Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley, are all going to remain open. However, the other 12 across the state all have potential to end up on the chopping block.
In response to this, representative Charity Grimm Krupa announced a legislative package containing three bills with the goal of protecting the path of higher education for Pennsylvania students. Grimm Kupa said that “As a publicly funded, land-grant university, Penn State has an obligation to serve all Pennsylvanians – not just those in urban or wealthy areas.” The three bills include the State-Related University Accountability Act, the Taxpayer-Funded Education Access Protection Act, and the Economic and Workforce Impact Review Act. The bills, Grimm Kupa says, are, “About fairness, fiscal responsibility and protecting the future of our communities.”
PSU PRESIDENT NEELI BENDAPUDI
REP. CHARITY GRIMM KRUPA