UNIVERSITY PARK – Members of the University Faculty Senate discussed with University leadership the upcoming decision on the future composition of the Commonwealth Campuses and the role faculty will play in the transition process, as well as passed a policy on adding voluntary attributes to sustainability-related courses and other senate business, during its April 1 meeting.
A video recording of the full meeting can be found on the senate’s website.
Commonwealth Campuses
President Neeli Bendapudi updated the senate on the progress toward a recommendation for the future composition of the Commonwealth Campus ecosystem, reinforcing the role of faculty engagement in upcoming transitions.
Bendapudi said that the committee jointly led by Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor; Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost; and Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff, will deliver its recommendation by the end of the spring semester.
The committee has established multiple workstreams to engage subject matter experts and shared governance bodies representing faculty, staff and students.
No campus identified for closure will close before the end of the 2026-27 academic year.
“This is an incredibly difficult process, and that's why we committed early to a long transition timeline so that we could be thoughtful, collaborative and responsive to our students, to our faculty and our communities,” Bendapudi said. “That commitment has not changed. They will receive comprehensive support from all levels of the organization.”
Langkilde said the job of the workstreams is to focus on how to phase the campuses to closure, including how to best support Penn State’s employees and students throughout the process.
Once the campuses for closure have been identified, Langkilde said the next steps will be to use the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) data to make sure that the right programs are offered in the right locations to serve those local communities.
“I don't have all of the answers, and I think the answers are probably going to be different in every campus location,” Langkilde said. “So, we are going to need people who understand the context and the landscape and who are personally impacted to help us understand how we can be both incredibly supportive of whatever personal decisions people want to make, while also making sure that the core structure and support are there for our students.”
So far, Langkilde said the workstreams have engaged at least 30 faculty members and received questions from the Faculty Senate, University Staff Advisory Council (USAC) and Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG). Additionally, more than 400 questions and comments have been submitted through the CWC2025@psu.edu email address and the section of the University’s Road Map website focused on the future of the Commonwealth Campuses will continue to evolve with new information, resources and FAQs. She expressed appreciation for the feedback that has been coming in on the process thus far.
Faculty Senators continued to raise questions about the meaning of shared governance and what role the senate should play in advising and consulting with the administration. Several senators voiced frustration with what they saw as a lack of transparency and collaboration around the decision to close some of the Commonwealth Campuses.
The senate voted in favor of an advisory/consultative report recommending that, in accordance with the principles of shared governance, the administration submit a plan for review and consultation by the Senate Council ahead of the public announcement on Commonwealth Campus closures.
A motion was made for the senate to take a vote of no confidence in President Bendapudi’s leadership. This motion was initially brought to the floor during the senate’s February meeting but was tabled. The motion of no confidence during the April 1 meeting did not pass.
Other University updates
President Bendapudi recognized examples of academic and athletic excellence across the University, including Dr. Jainendra Jain, Evan Pugh University Professor of Physics, having been named a 2025 Wolf Prize Laureate, the students who showcased their entrepreneurism at 2025 Startup Week powered by PNC, Penn State’s national champion wrestling team and the men’s hockey team, which just made it to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.
She also recognized Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde for her service in the role since April 2024. Fotis Sotiropoulos was named Penn State’s executive vice president and provost on Tuesday, effective Aug. 11.
“I want to take a moment to thank Dr. Tracy Langkilde for her tireless service. What she has done is nothing short of remarkable,” Bendapudi said. “She stepped into this critical role during a time of real transition, and she’s done so with wisdom, grace and incredible dedication to our faculty, students and staff."
Langkilde and her team are in the process of launching an ombudsman’s office, which Bendapudi called “an important step in systems of trust and accountability.”
The idea for the office originated from a recommendation by the Faculty Safety committee, as well as from staff requests. Langkilde said this office will complement not replace the Faculty Senate’s ombuds system.
Langkilde also gave an update on the 1,274 non-tenure-line contracts that were up for reappointment for this July. Of those contracts, she said 91% were reappointed, 8% were not reappointed, and 1% is still undecided. The number of contracts not renewed was up from 5% last year. Of the 105 contracts not renewed, Langkilde said 45 were due to the faculty member retiring or resigning, 20 were hired on a fixed appointment with no expectation of reappointment, and that the rest, 24 were due program uncertainty, budget, or low enrollment, and that the remainder were due to a variety of reasons including job transitions, lack of external funding, and performance.
Senate passes two legislative reports
The senate voted in favor of a new senate policy (SP 180-50), which creates sustainability course attributes. This new curricular policy allows for courses to be voluntarily identified in the course catalogue (LionPATH) as meeting key sustainability outcomes.
In order to satisfy the criteria for the attribute, the course must define sustainability in a personally, civically or disciplinary relevant context, include at least one course learning objective that demonstrates an enduring course focus on sustainability and meet one of four sustainability learning objectives detailed in the report.
This criterion was developed by Curricular Affairs members, in consultation with a broad team of faculty, staff and students over the past two years. The idea for this new policy came from students’ desire for more sustainability coursework across disciplines.
Jonna Belanger, associate teaching professor of kinesiology and chair of the Curricular Affairs committee, explained that in addition to the outlined requirements, any course proposing to utilize the sustainability attribute will also have to go through the curriculum process and be scrutinized by a subcommittee established by Curricular Affairs to specifically handle sustainability attributes.
The senate also voted in favor of updating its standing rules to formally require a representative from World Campus to be added to the Senate Committee on Admissions, Records, Scheduling, and Student Aid (ARSSA), the committee responsible for procedures and policies relating to academic standards for undergraduate education.
Committee reports
Senate committees tasked with working in tandem with University leaders on various initiatives also reported on their progress. Highlights of the reports include:
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The Committees on Faculty Affairs, Intra-University Relations, and University Planning reported consultation on the decision surrounding campus closures and faculty involvement on the faculty and staff transitions and student transition and retention workstreams.
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The Committees on Curricular Affairs, Education, and Intra-University Relations. Reported that the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) team held its first virtual insight session to provide updates and answer questions from the Penn State community about the project. The next session will be held April 24. Since the senate’s last meeting, the APPR working groups released three of the six planned reports, which can be found on the University’s APPR website.
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The Committee on Faculty Benefits reviewed the annual health care report with Human Resources, submitted minor revisions and is on track to present the report at the next senate meeting.
Other Senate Business
In response to recent federal actions, the senate voted in favor of an advisory and consultative report asking the University for more clarity and awareness on its policy for student, faculty and staff interaction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
The senate also:
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Passed slates of nominees for election to the leadership positions of chair-elect and secretary of the senate, as well as to the Faculty Advisory Committee to the President and for the following committees: Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, University Promotion and Tenure Review and the Standing Joint Committee on Tenure.
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Listened to and discussed informational reports on topics, including faculty salaries, promotion flow for non-tenure-line faculty, updates to Values, Ethics and Compliance training and budgets for Intercollegiate Athletics and the College of Medicine.
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Heard updates on the Restorative Justice Initiative and Prision Education Programs housed in the College of Education, and a competitor analysis using National Student Clearinghouse data from Matt Melvin, vice president for enrollment management.
The next regular meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held at 1:30 p.m. April 29 via Zoom and in person at 112 Kern Building.
About Faculty Senate
The University Faculty Senate is a legislative body comprised of 200 faculty, elected by their peers from each college and campus. The senate also includes representatives from the undergraduate and graduate student body and University administration. The senate holds legislative authority on educational matters including curriculum, student policies, admissions, and retention/graduation requirements. The senate also serves as an advisory and consultative body to the University administration, a process referred to as shared governance.