Penn State triggers local leadership crisis
File photo
By Richard Robbins
It’s all well and good for state Sen. Pat Stefano to criticize Penn State University for abandoning its Fayette County branch campus, as he did last Monday on this page, but the question is: what’s next in store for the Route 119 campus, with its dozens of fine buildings and sparkling amenities such as ball fields, gymnasium, and theater?
Stefano, who proclaimed that he graduated from the Fayette campus, revealed that he recently voted against Penn State’s “request for state funding.”
“… My support for Penn State as an institution ENDS,” he declared. What the addendum “as an institution” signals is unclear. Maybe it signals nothing; maybe it signals that he’s open to supporting non-institutional Penn State, whatever that may be.
The sad fact is that the senator comes off sounding like a political scold, or worse, a political opportunist, tapping into public disgust with the university’s overpaid former football coach, James Franklin, and its well-compensated president, Neeli Bendapudi.
Much more is required of community leaders. With the campus slated to close at the end of the 2026-2027 school year, it’s time for elected officials and others to step up their game. Leadership of substance is needed like never before.
Where, in this regard, has Congressman Guy Rescenthaler been hiding? If there ever was a time for the congressman to show up – both literally and figuratively – it’s now.
Rescenthaler treats large swaths of his sprawling congressional district as places to be avoided. Locals can’t recall the last time he stepped foot in Fayette County, and then it was likely for a political event. Visits of substance have been rare, and that’s putting it generously.
With his ties to House leadership, Rescenthaler seems to be in a perfect position to offer substantive assistance. One can imagine the reaction of an activist congressman to this crisis. Frank Mascara, for instance, would likely have been all over this. Even more to the point, John Murtha.
Murtha, who survived several political scandals during his Pennsylvania record 36 years in the House, was a champion funder of local causes. The ultimate Washington insider, he got things done in his districts as well.
Murtha’s untimely death in 2010 deprived Capitol Hill of a skilled legislator whose deft machinations once elevated a California congresswoman to the speakership and regularly brought millions of dollars out from Washington to Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Murtha knew how to pick, choose, and back local proposals. His most familiar technique was to wait on community groups and leaders to come to him with a project. He sought consensus: did the venture have broad support? What were its chances for success? Would Washington seed money attract additional money from the private sector? Did the intended outcome warrant the political muscle required to push it past the finish line?
The Murtha example has particular relevance in the case of the Fayette campus. Instead of Rescenthaler coming to the district, maybe local leaders need to present him with a smartly-conceived undertaking – a scheme with a sporting chance for success and substantial backing.
The choices facing those grappling with the future use of the soon-to-be former Penn State campus are difficult ones. The proposal of Fayette County Controller Robb Rhodes to convert the campus into a four-year college training ground for future members of the military doesn’t appear to be top of mind right now. More has been made of its conversion into an advanced vocational training school, a workforce development venue with ties to the private sector.
The questions surrounding this use of the campus are tough, many, and varied. For confirmation, take a look at the 2025 study by the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board, available online. Perhaps the study’s primary conclusion is that there exists a “clear need to align workforce development strategies with high-growth sectors” jobs.
Easier said than done, however. For instance, do high-growth sector jobs refer only to ones projected for the county, or should they encompass the region, the state, the nation? For that matter, how about the world?
Southwest Pennsylvania alone spans urban, suburban, and rural communities spawning sometimes unique economies, the study points out.
There is plenty to gripe about when it comes to Penn State, as Sen. Stefano amply explained. But now is not the time to dwell on injuries, even recent ones. It’s time for tough, hard-nosed decision-making. It’s time for local leaders to come up big.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins@gmail.com.