Pitt to reduce workforce at Titusville

The University of Pittsburgh plans a workforce reduction on its Titusville campus as it moves ahead with previously announced plans to transform the location into a training hub and lease some space to outside educators.

Officials Thursday could not say how many of the campus’s 65 employees — among them 34 full- and part-time teaching staff — will be affected by the change, which is expected to occur no earlier than August 2020.

“This timeline ensures that the path to a degree for all

cur-rent Pitt-Titusville students will not change, and that the campus community can and will remain committed to supporting student success,” Pitt spokesman Joseph Miksch said. “There are no plans to reduce the workforce elsewhere in the University of Pittsburgh system,” he added.

In February, Titusville was spared closure when Pitt trustees opted instead to shift its focus. When Pitt made the decision, Titusville enrolled 300 students, the smallest of the university’s four satellite campuses. Others are Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown.

Titusville is Pitt’s only two-year campus and had lost 40 percent of its enrollment in a decade. It was $1 million in the red.

Pitt has said it intends to initiate $10 million to $15 million in improvements at Titusville with the cost split among the university, the commonwealth and other groups.

Mr. Miksch had no update on the overall project Thursday, but university officials in February said they had already received proposals from potential tenants, including Manchester Bidwell Corp., Butler County Community College and Northern Pennsylvania Regional College.

Pitt has said it will continue some instruction of its own there.

“We are not naming additional partners at this time,” he said.

The Titusville campus is 100 miles north of Pittsburgh in Crawford County. It has operated for half a century.