On Monday, Aug. 24, all 18 students in Keely Roen's second-year wildlife management lab at Penn State DuBois showed up for roll call. The room is decorated with a taxidermied black bear, a coyote and a fisher. A student-managed monarch butterfly nursery sits at one end, and grocery bingo is a back-to-school tradition on campus. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was in the room for what it called the last first day at DuBois and six other closing Penn State campuses.
Most DuBois residents already know the campus closes after spring 2027. The campus is already being put to new use. A second college is running classes inside the Swift Building right now. The state also changed a law this summer so the whole property can be sold as one piece, and the first two closing campuses to sell went to buyers who kept education at the center. Those two facts give the clearest picture so far of where the College Place campus is headed.
A second college is already teaching in the Swift Building
Since July 1, 2026, Mount Aloysius College has leased classroom and office space in the Swift Building. Penn State announced the deal on May 13. Penn State stays the owner and landlord, and the campus keeps its approved closure timeline. Mount Aloysius runs separately, with its own faculty, student services and accreditation. Penn State's announcement says long-term ownership or use of the property "will be considered separately."
Mount Aloysius is a Catholic college in Cambria County. It chose healthcare for DuBois and announced DuBois-based programs in nursing, radiography and surgical technology. Penn Highlands Healthcare funds students and guarantees job placement, often at Penn Highlands facilities. The nursing partnership also brought in the DuBois Educational Foundation and local legislators. Pre-nursing courses started this fall. Nursing courses are set to begin in January 2027, pending approval from the Middle States accrediting body.
The pairing makes sense here. Penn Highlands keeps its corporate office in DuBois and says each of its facilities is the largest employer in its hometown. Penn Highlands also published a July 2026 article on recruiting and keeping workers in rural healthcare, describing education partnerships and signing bonuses as part of its approach. So part of the campus is now training workers for the city's own health system, with jobs lined up when they finish.
If you want to see it for yourself, Mount Aloysius is holding an open house in the Swift Building this Thursday, Oct. 15, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. It will cover all three healthcare programs, and the college says each can be finished in as little as two years.
The same foundation that saved the campus in 1945 is involved again
Local groups shaping the next step isn't new for this campus. Penn State's campus history says the DuBois Center opened in 1935 in four rooms of the former Hubert Street grade school, with 42 students in its first semester. In May 1945, area residents incorporated the DuBois Educational Foundation to keep the center running.
Eighty-one years later, that foundation is one of the partners behind the nursing program in the Swift Building. The group that kept the campus open in 1945 is back, this time helping launch the program that is already using its classrooms.
The enrollment numbers explain how things got here. Penn State DuBois stopped admitting new students after fall 2025 and is supporting current students through the 2026–27 academic year. The Post-Gazette reported enrollment of 375 students in fall 2025. The Hubert Street rooms held 42. Today's campus has a library and auditorium in the Hiller Building, a gym and fitness room in the Multi-Purpose Building, and meeting space open to the public in the Workforce Development and Technology Center. Mount Aloysius leases only part of one building, and the rest of the campus still needs a long-term owner.
A summer law change made a whole-campus sale possible
Until this year, Penn State couldn't easily sell a closing campus in one piece. As Spotlight PA reported in a story published by PennLive, state deed restrictions covered parts of each campus that public money had helped build. If Penn State stopped using that land for education, those parts would go back to the Commonwealth. In some cases the restriction covered a single building, so a campus couldn't be sold as an intact package.
Lawmakers removed those restrictions on all seven closing campuses, DuBois included, through an amendment sponsored by state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County. His office said the restrictions had limited how quickly the campuses could "be put back into productive community uses."
The first sales came quickly. On Sept. 18, Penn State's Board of Trustees approved two of them:
| Campus | Buyer | Price | Planned use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Shenango, nearly 13 acres, 12 buildings | JCL Development LLC | $1 million | Hub for education, workforce training, economic development and cultural enrichment |
| Penn State Wilkes-Barre, about 57 acres, 17 buildings | HGC Development LLC, a subsidiary of the neighboring Huntsville Golf Club | $5.25 million | Multi-use site with an education hub anchored by a planned Misericordia University partnership, plus an event and conference venue |
Both sales went to buyers who plan to keep education at the center of the property. Wilkes-Barre also brought in another college as an anchor. In Penn State's announcement, the university said discussions "continue for the remaining five," and named DuBois first on that list, along with Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington and York. No DuBois buyer or price has been announced.
DuBois already has a college teaching on site under a lease, and that matches the pattern in both approved sales. Whoever bids on the College Place campus will be bidding on a property that already has a higher-education tenant in place.
The dates that matter between now and the end of spring
Several deadlines and events fall between now and the close of the academic year:
- Oct. 15, 2026: Mount Aloysius open house for its healthcare programs in the Swift Building, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
- January 2027: Mount Aloysius nursing courses are scheduled to start, pending Middle States approval.
- May 2027: The USCAA Small College World Series returns to Showers Field and Heindl Memorial Field. The USCAA's original announcement listed May 9 to 14 and warned the dates could change.
- After the spring 2027 semester: Penn State DuBois closes.
The baseball tournament is the community event most at risk. The USCAA has held it in DuBois since 2018, and the Post-Gazette reported that the host after spring 2027 is unclear. When the event was extended through 2026 and 2027, the Courier Express reported 1,400 to 1,500 hotel room nights a year and $2.88 million in economic impact over six years.
Some programs are moving rather than ending. Penn State's Wildlife Technology page says students who applied for fall 2026 will do their first year at DuBois and their second year at Altoona. Current second-year students can finish in DuBois. The monarch nursery in Roen's lab is this year's project. Next year, the program's second-year coursework moves to Altoona.
What hasn't been decided yet
Three big questions are still open. No buyer has been named for the DuBois campus. Penn State hasn't said what happens after closure to the Hiller Auditorium, the library, the fitness room or the public meeting rooms. The Mount Aloysius lease is described as transitional, so it may not be permanent. The Post-Gazette noted in August that Penn State had not shared concrete plans for each campus property.
City leaders are working on their side. In February, WTAJ reported on a 2026 economic growth push from new DuBois leadership and a promotion strategy from the DuBois Area Chamber of Commerce, both meant in part to support reusing the campus. Specific business leads were kept confidential. The campus also closes in the same year the city of DuBois and Sandy Township officially consolidated into one city. "I believe in rural America," Mayor Barry Abbott told the Post-Gazette. "I believe in DuBois."
The next update to watch for is a Penn State Board of Trustees agenda that lists the DuBois campus by name.
Ryen Realty will keep following the College Place campus as Penn State works out what comes next. If you own a home or a rental near campus and want to know where it stands as the student calendar winds down, our team is happy to take a look with you. Ask us for a free home valuation, and we'll give you a clear local read on your property as things change.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
