Apr 26, 2021 2 min read

The State System of Higher Education will vote Wednesday on combining six universities into two entities, a decision that will affect California University of Pennsylvania.

The merged schools will operate under a new name that has not been determined, but each will maintain their own identities, state system spokesman David Pidgeon said.

“There is a range of possibilities,” Pidgeon said Monday.

The state system has proposed merging Cal U. with Edinboro and Clarion in Western Pennsylvania and doing the same with Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Mansfield in the Northeast. Cal U. is expected to become the main campus in the west.

The state system has said it needs to reform and consolidate schools to address lower enrollments and funding shortfalls into the millions. The financial losses were further complicated by campus closures and remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindl said the reformed schools will offer a broader selection of minors and electives through remote learning. Some programs, such as art, might be better taught in person at Edinboro.

She said all general eduction and courses related to disciplines will be taught face-to-face.

The state system’s board of governors will meet at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to vote on the plan that is outlined in a 439-page report that was released Monday. The union representing the professors will hold a virtual rally about the plan at 4 p.m. Wednesday.