Penn State Liberal Arts Building to Remain Closed Through Spring Semester After Structural Issue Caused Damage

A new Penn State building that was closed in November because of a “localized structural issue” will remain out of service for the spring 2026 semester, the university wrote in an update on Wednesday.

The Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building has been deemed “safe for limited reentry” but will remain closed while repair work continues, according to the university.

The building, which opened earlier this year, was evacuated on Nov. 12 after what a 911 dispatch described as a “sound of an explosion.” Alpha Chief Tony Berrena told StateCollege.com partner publication Onward State that crews observed a crack in the wall of the building from the second floor to the roof and that the floor had settled about 2 inches.

No one was injured, and the university wrote the following day that a preliminary assessment determined that a “localized structural issue” caused the damage.

The specific nature of the structural issue has not been disclosed. Penn State said in November that engineers from the university’s Office of Physical Plant and outside experts were conducting a full examination to definitively determine the cause of the damage.

Offices housed in the building and classes that were scheduled there for the fall semester were relocated.

The $128 million, six-story building opened in January after more than two years of construction. It is home to the departments of anthropology, political science and sociology and criminology, the School of Public Policy, Criminal Justice Research Center, Matson Museum of Anthropology, McCourtney Institute for Democracy and Social Science Research Institute.