More than 380 Penn State commonwealth campus employees opted to take part in the university’s Voluntary Separation Incentive Program, in which eligible employees could volunteer to leave the university with pay and benefits.
The university released information about the VSIP participation and changes to the administrative model for the commonwealth campuses on Tuesday.
Last month, the university announced it would offer eligible commonwealth campus employees a voluntary separation incentive program. Employees could voluntarily terminate their employment at Penn State with a lump sum payment equal to 12 months of their base salary, among other benefits.
Across all commonwealth campuses, 383 employees — about 21% of those eligible for the program — signed up for the buyouts, Penn State said in a release. This results in an overall 10% reduction in personnel. The majority of the employees, 77%, were staff.
“The dollar value of salary and fringe expense associated with these 383 employees is $43 million, however, actual savings will not be known until later in the year when University leaders know which positions will be backfilled,” the release states.
Employees had most of May to enroll in the VSIP. The release states about 52% of staff participating in the VSIP will leave the university on June 28; the rest will have their last day deferred, but will be no later than Dec. 31. Employees were notified of their departure dates on Monday.
Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost, in the release said the VSIP allowed them to lower personnel costs and put the decision in the employees’ hands in a way that was “as compassionate as possible.”
“We must find ways to be more efficient in using the University’s limited resources while continuing to deliver on our land-grant mission to create new knowledge and lift up students from across the commonwealth and beyond through higher education. The VSIP helped us do that, and it has presented an opportunity to reconfigure our operations across our campuses to make each Penn State campus stronger and more viable,” Langkilde said.
Enrollment at commonwealth campuses has declined in recent years. According to Penn State, enrollment at commonwealth campuses have declined in aggregate by about 24% over the past decade. All but two campuses have seen a loss of between 16% and 50% over the same period, the release states.
With that, the overall budget for commonwealth campuses has a $49 million aggregate deficit.
Michele Stine, chair of the Penn State faculty senate, said she remains concerned about the impact of the VSIP, especially on the fall semester.
“We don’t know what the numbers look like at the campus level, so it’s not clear what the impact on student services, advising, and other critical areas will be. I know the chancellors have been working with the VP for Commonwealth Campuses to plan for how to address needs for this academic year and beyond. I hope we hear more details about that soon,” Stine wrote in an email.
Moving to a regional leadership model
Looking ahead, the university announced it will implement a new shared regional administrative model for its commonwealth campuses this summer.
Several chancellors are retiring, leaving the university for other jobs or signed up for the VSIP, the release states, so Penn State has “has the opportunity to streamline its Commonwealth Campus leadership structure to reduce administrative overhead, leverage regional opportunities and provide enhanced collaboration across locations.” A university spokesperson declined to say how many chancellors enrolled in the VSIP, to “protect personnel privacy.”
Beginning July 1, many commonwealth campuses will become part of the regional leadership model, which will be led by one administrator.
Penn State Beaver and Penn State Shenango will be led by Chancellor Carey McDougall.
Penn State Fayette, Penn State Greater Allegheny and Penn State New Kensington will be led by Chancellor Megan Nagel. The release states, “Penn State New Kensington Chancellor Kevin Snider will remain in his position through Dec. 31, to collaborate on the transition for the Digital Foundry at the New Kensington campus. The interim chancellor/chief academic officer at Fayette will work through the end of his term with Nagel to facilitate the transition in this region.”
Penn State Hazleton, Penn State Scranton and Penn State Wilkes-Barre will be led by Chancellor Elizabeth Wright. Wilkes-Barre Chancellor Lynda Goldstein will remain in her position until 2025 to help facilitate the transition.
Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Mont Alto and Penn State York will be led by Chancellor Marilyn Wells.
In the release, Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for commonwealth campuses and executive chancellor, said the campuses will maintain their individual identities throughout this new leadership structure.
“Over time we will refine the campus leadership structure as needs evolve to support a streamlined and responsive educational experience for students across our campuses,” DelliCarpini said. “It’s important to note that our campuses will maintain their individual identities. Each one has strengths, and our goal is to build on those and scale them across the commonwealth.”
Stine said the faculty senate wasn’t consulted on the regional leadership plan and she didn’t have enough details to comment on the plan. She added she has faith in those who were selected for the regional leadership structure, and has a “great deal of respect” for the chancellors.
“I am eager to see the details on how this regional leadership plan will help foster more collaboration and create a more robust student experience,” Stine wrote.
Additionally, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi will use up to $20 million of the president’s fiscal year 2026 strategic funds (about 40% of the total strategic initiatives funds) to invest in the commonwealth campuses, the release states. The funds, which are already accounted for in the overall university budget, will help ease the campuses’ budget shortfall, the release states, and give Penn State until June 30, 2026 to fully balance the commonwealth campus budget.
The exact amount of money will be determined after the university can compare the final savings from the VSIP to the $49 million budget deficit.
“I believe in the role the Penn State Commonwealth Campuses play in the University’s commitment to Pennsylvania families and in each one of their local communities,” Bendapudi said. “With these funds, campus and University leadership will have more time to find opportunities for growth and areas for improved efficiency.”
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