Members of the Penn State administration sit at a table on stage of an auditorium on the Altoona campus. From left to right is Senior Vice President for Finance & Business/Treasurer Sara Thorndike, President Neeli Bendapudi, and Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini. The discussion was also live streamed for Penn State staff, faculty and students.
Sydney Roach is a reporter and host for WPSU with a passion for radio and community stories. She's a graduate of Northern Cambria High School and Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
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Members of the Penn State administration sit at a table on stage of an auditorium on the Altoona campus. From left to right is Senior Vice President for Finance & Business/Treasurer Sara Thorndike, President Neeli Bendapudi, and Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini. The discussion was also live streamed for Penn State staff, faculty and students.
More than 90 questions were submitted anonymously ahead of time online and attendees could ask questions in person. Many surrounded the $54 million cut in university funding for Commonwealth Campuses in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
There were only about 110 people in the room, but more than a thousand online.
Penn State did not allow the media to record the discussion or ask questions.
Following the discussion, first-year Penn State Altoona student Andrew Demitis waited outside, hoping to meet Bendapudi before she left. He was interested in a plan she mentioned for Penn State to create a pathway to enrollment for K-12 students.
“I’ve been concerned with the enrollment since my dad came here, probably around 15 years ago. And ever since then, we’ve seen a dramatic decrease of students and student life,”Demitis said.
Demitis said he thinks increasing Greek life on campus would help.
“Enrollment is one of the best solutions to get out of deficit. And if you can increase your enrollment through student life, then you fix one problem there,” Demitis said.
Bendapudi said it would be irresponsible of her to say changes aren’t coming, but she did say campus closures are far down the list of possible solutions.
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A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.