3 Western Pa. public universities plan for campus reopening this fall

Deb Erdley, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 18—A trio of Western Pennsylvania public universities that shuttered their campuses last fall and only recently began offering more classes on campus say they are making plans for a full-fledged return to campus for fall 2021.

Officials at California, Clarion and Edinboro universities say they are cautiously planning to reopen this fall, provided current trends continue.

Their decisions came on the heels of announcements that covid-19 rates in Pennsylvania have declined by about 50% over the last month, falling to the lowest rates since October.

Cal U, Clarion and Edinboro are part of a three-school integration plan under study. If adopted, the proposal would merge the three universities that have struggled with declining enrollment in recent years to form a single academic entity with three distinct campuses and identities, as well as individual sports teams at each school.

Like colleges across the country, the three schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education shuttered campus operations last spring and went entirely online. Although some colleges reopened this fall under a hybrid operation model that included online and limited in person classes, the three universities continued to operate largely remotely during the fall 2020 semester. They began welcoming a limited number of students to campus for the spring semester.

At Cal U where approximately 50% of classes are being offered on campus this semester, interim President Robert Thorn Thursday announced plans to scale up operations this fall.

"Because our spring semester has gotten off to a strong start, we are optimistic that we can offer more in-person classes and a campus experience that allows us to work, live and learn together" in the Fall 2021 semester, Thorn said.

Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, who is serving as president of Clarion and interim president of Edinboro, said the two schools anticipate welcoming students back on campus for the fall semester. This spring, they are operating with a limited number of students this spring.

"We will continue to follow the science, but we are very hopeful that students can return to in-person classes, living in our residence halls and engaging in more activities," she said.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .