Dear Penn Staters,
After months of planning and analysis and the completion of the University’s Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP), today (June 11) we shared some important updates for our Commonwealth Campuses. These include a one-time infusion of up to $20 million in additional funding, moving staff and tech services into Optimized Service Teams and a new shared, regional administrative model that will create efficiencies across campuses and help reduce expenditures.
We also shared some data about participation in the VSIP and how it is informing the ways we are working to transform our Commonwealth Campuses to create a sustainable future.
Here are the important takeaways:
- In all, 383 employees, or about 21% of those who were eligible across the commonwealth, opted in to the VSIP, resulting in an overall 10% reduction in personnel. About 77% of employees participating in the VSIP were staff. The dollar value of salary and fringe expense associated with these 383 employees is $43 million, however, we will not know actual savings until later in the year when we know which positions are backfilled.
- President Neeli Bendapudi has committed to using up to $20 million of the president’s strategic funds — about 40% of such available funds — as an investment in the Commonwealth Campuses to allow the transformation we are undertaking to be developed and implemented thoughtfully and effectively. The exact amount of these funds will be clear after the final savings realized from the VSIP are compared against the $49 million budget deficit. This one-time infusion of additional funding, which is already accounted for in the overall University budget, will further ease the campuses’ budget deficit and give the University extra time — until June 30, 2026 — to fully balance the Commonwealth Campus budget.
- This summer, we will begin to implement a regional leadership model specifically focused on the University College. The model will reduce administrative overhead, leverage regional opportunities and provide enhanced collaboration across locations, while prioritizing a robust Penn State experience for students and providing consistent administrative and support services.
- To create further efficiencies for the Commonwealth Campuses, the University is accelerating the timeline for staff and tech services at the campuses in facilities, finance and information technology to join Optimized Service Teams (OSTs). Effective July 1, personnel and salaries in these positions will move to the central Office of Physical Plant, Penn State IT, and Budget & Finance, bringing additional budget savings to the campuses.
I encourage you to read the Penn State News story and review the updated FAQs included on this page, which offer more details on these developments and our plans for the Commonwealth Campus transformation. As we move through the next several months, we will continue to provide informational updates as decisions are made. We are very optimistic about the path ahead for our campus system and are looking forward to creating a future where all our campuses can thrive.
Margo DelliCarpini
Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor