Wyatt Massey of Spotlight PA State College

The settlement ends roughly 18 months of litigation after Spotlight PA brought a case against the university’s board over alleged violations of Pennsylvania’s open meetings law.

Transparency advocates are questioning the Penn State Board of Trustees’ use of closed-door meetings for discussion of potential campus closures that would affect thousands of employees and students.

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi has proposed closing the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses. University trustees still need to vote on the plan.

The Penn State Board of Trustees plans to gather in a virtual-only meeting in May to decide the fate of 12 commonwealth campuses. University President Neeli Bendapudi will propose which of the campuses to close.

Since Penn State announced its multimillion-dollar budget deficit in 2022, the university has deeply cut the budgets to its graduate school and engineering college, a Spotlight PA analysis found.

Penn State could close up to 12 of its 20 commonwealth campuses. It’s unclear what authority the Board of Trustees has in approving the university president’s plan.

Penn State’s commonwealth campuses enroll a more racially diverse group of people, a greater percentage of Pennsylvania residents and more first-generation college students, than its flagship at University Park.

Penn State kept its pledge to reduce the meeting costs of its 36-member board, but each gathering still totals tens of thousands of dollars.

When Penn State University’s administration brings a proposal to its governing board, the item is all but assured to pass, a Spotlight PA analysis found.

Some items before the Penn State Board of Trustees — such as the $9.9 billion budget or building projects — often pass with no or limited discussion, a Spotlight PA analysis found.