More state officials speak out on Penn State campus closures: ‘It’s disheartening’

DUBOIS, Pa. (WTAJ) — Since the Penn State Board of Trustees voted last week to close seven branch campuses, including DuBois, we’ve heard from several state officials who’ve raised concerns.

“It’s disheartening to see them pull out and leave rural Pennsylvania at a loss here, so we will meet the challenges that this presents,” Senator Wayne Langerholc said.

When we spoke with a donor of the Penn State DuBois campus earlier in May, they expressed concern about the buildings that they’ve donated to. Langerholc says that they’re working to figure out a plan so the buildings don’t sit vacant.

“We’ve been in talks and we’ll continue to talk with any entity that you know believes in rural Pennsylvania in rural Clearfield County and wants to invest. I think that anyone that’s willing to invest will find that we have incredible people in this region, we have incredible work ethic, we have incredible knowledge, we have incredible drive,” Langerholc said.

Senator Langerholc also expressed concerns about another move that could hurt rural communities; the state’s plan to close Quehanna Bootcamp and SCI Rockview, but he remains optimistic.

“We will meet these challenges head on, and I’m confident on that front that we’ll be able to hold those prisons in as well, but we will meet the challenges head on,” Langerholc added.

The seven Penn State campuses are set to close their doors after the spring 2027 semester, but first, the closures must be approved by the department of education and governor Josh Shapiro, who seems to support the closures. He’s publicly stated that he has confidence in the leadership at Penn State who made the decision.

To read more about the Penn State campus closures, you can click here.