MONT ALTO – Just months after Penn State University’s Board of Trustees voted to shutter the Mont Alto campus along with six others as part of drastic financial austerity measures, the same board has approved a nearly-million-dollar annual pay hike for President Neeli Bendapudi.
The decision, finalized last week, reflects what observers call a profound disconnect between Penn State’s leadership and the communities it claims to serve. The closures, ratified in a 25-8 vote on May 22, target seven commonwealth campuses, including Mont Alto, DuBois, Fayette, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York.
University officials justified the move as a necessary response to a $200 million operating deficit that preceded Bendapudi’s arrival in 2022, which they say accrued following years of declining enrollment and demographic shifts.
Mont Alto, which offers nursing and business degrees in addition to its renowned forestry program, operates at a $3 million annual loss and has $32.2 million in deferred maintenance, according to university documents.
For residents like Sheila Vieira, a Franklin County engineer and Mont Alto parent, the math doesn’t add up, and she has done her own analysis that shows the campus is doing better than others spared the chopping block.
“That’s outrageous!” irate Vieira told LocalNews1.org after hearing the news. Having thoroughly analyzed Penn State’s own enrollment data, Vieira points out that Mont Alto has outperformed peers like Beaver and Greater Allegheny in key metrics.
Vieira is among a small and increasingly frustrated group, including faculty, students, alumni and local officials, who believe the closure would cause significant economic and educational losses to Franklin County.
“I have seen firsthand how much this campus matters to our students, faculty, staff and the broader community,” she said.
The university’s own data shows Mont Alto outperforming some campuses that are being kept open, yet this information has not been shared transparently.
The decision has already prompted early contract buyouts for staff and uncertainty for hundreds of students, many from households that rely on the campus’s proximity and available housing to plug into the prestigious Penn State system.
Like the other commonwealth campuses, Mont Alto losing Penn State will present a loss to Franklin County on both an economic and level and a loss of available and affordable higher education for south-central Pennsylvania’s best and brightest young people.
The PSU trustees’ Sept. 12 approval of Bendapudi’s new contract was nearly unanimously approved 34-1, which raised her base salary from $950,000 to $1.4 million, a 47.4 percent raise.
Automatic annual raises, retention and performance bonuses, and retirement contributions could bring her total compensation to $2.785 million annually, making her the seventh highest-paid public university president in the country, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
University leaders defend the raise as market-driven and cite industry benchmarks and survey data. In a statement announcing the new contract, University Board Chair David Kleppinger credited her with fostering “greater accountability, transparency and clarity” in resource management.
Vieira and others who oppose the Mont Alto closure aren’t so sure about that. “Many in our community are hesitant to speak out, but I will continue to raise my voice because the urgency is real. For Franklin County, the loss of this public Ivy campus would have profound consequences,” she said. “To prevent irreversible damage, we are urging transparency and holding the university accountable.”
Yet the administration’s attitude shows little sign of fading. With enrollment deadlines looming and repurposing talks already begun, the contrast between the president’s big raise and the demise of the iconic Franklin County institution is manifest.
