ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ generates approximately $243 million in economic activity annually in Alamance, Guilford, Orange and Durham counties of North Carolina. In addition, nearly 3,200 jobs exist in the region due to the presence of the university. Details...
Those are among the findings of a first-of-its-kind study of the economic and social impacts of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ. The study was conducted over the past eight months by economists in ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
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Released as the university enters the final stage of fund raising for the new Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center, the report quantifies the value of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ to the local business community.
The study takes into account the operations of the university, campus construction, and spending by employees, students, visitors to campus and ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ alumni who live in the region.
“People in this area have invested in ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ for generations and we are pleased to be able to demonstrate that they receive much in return, both economically and in terms of quality of life,” said Leo M. Lambert, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ president. “ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ brings tremendous benefits to our region and this study documents the details – both financial and social.”
With a total institutional impact of about a quarter-billion dollars per year, the per-student economic impact is more than $50,000 annually. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s operating budget this year is more than $96 million. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ is the fourth-largest employer in Alamance County, with 1,208 employees of the university and ARAMARK, its food service vendor. Seventy percent of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ employees live in Alamance County and 14 percent live in Guilford County.
Among the specific findings of the study are the following economic impacts in the four-county area:
- Impact of spending by the university on goods and services: $28.5 million
- Impact of spending by ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s 4,796 students: $51 million
- Impact of spending by ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s 1,208 employees: $27.3 million
- Impact of spending by the 41,600 annual visitors to campus: $11.4 million
- Benefits to local churches, charities and non-profit organizations: $4.2 million
- Annual impact of construction spending: $24.6 million
- Construction spending over the past seven years: $90 million
- Impact of spending by 3,144 alumni in the four-county region who first came to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ from outside the area: $95.7 million
The study methodology is based on a highly respected model first developed by economists in 1971 to measure the net impact of universities on local regions. The model uses conservative economic multipliers, ranging from 1.33 to 1.91, to measure the impact of money that is spent and re-spent, circulating in the local economy. If the higher multiplier figure of 2.0, commonly used by numerous other universities in similar studies, is applied to the data, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s impact would total $342 million. Thus it is likely that ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s actual total impact lies somewhere in the range from $243 million to $342 million.
Authors of the study are Dr. Gregory Lilly, associate professor of economics; Daniel Anderson, assistant vice president and director of university relations; and Gregory Halstead, a 2004 ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ graduate in economics. Dr. Michael Walden, an economist at North Carolina State University who has conducted several economic impact studies, was consulted on the study.
An advisory committee that includes 13 local business leaders and university administrators guided the study and decided on a conservative approach to determining the impact.
Committee member Sonny Wilburn, president of the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce, says the study illustrates ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s key position in the local economy. “This study documents that ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ is a powerful economic engine that creates direct benefits for local businesses. A strong ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ means a strong local business sector,” Wilburn says.
“This is a credible and scholarly approach to a complex economic measurement,” says Dr. John Burbridge, dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and member of the advisory committee. “I am confident that we have accurately assessed what ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ means to the business community. The university is a major asset that builds financial wealth and also serves to attract new businesses.”
The study also assesses the social impact of the university on the region. About half of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s 22,000 alumni live in North Carolina and nearly 5,000 live in the four-county region. Many hold leadership positions in business and more than 400 are employed in K-12 education.
About 9 out of 10 graduating seniors have volunteered time working in the community. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students volunteer about 82,500 hours of service in local organizations annually, the equivalent of a staff of 40 people working full-time, 52 weeks per year.
Twenty-eight classes involve students in service-learning projects that address community needs. Students organized 27 special service events last year and raised about $68,000 for charity. About 200 ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students serve as interns in local businesses and 100 are student-teachers in local schools.
About 40 percent of employees volunteer time at non-profit organizations and employee charitable contributions total an estimated $1.5 million.
Several ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ departments and programs have important community outreach components, including the John R. Kernodle Jr. Center for Service Learning and ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Volunteers!, the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Institute for Politics and Public Affairs, the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Center for Environmental Studies and the Office of School Outreach Programs. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ is also one of ten founding colleges and universities in Project Pericles, a national effort to instill in students an ethic of social responsibility and civic concern, and is the host institution for North Carolina Campus Compact, a coalition that supports campus engagement in the community.
ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Office of Cultural Programs coordinates more than 100 lectures, concerts, theater and dance performances, readings and art exhibits annually, and those events are open to the public. A renowned speakers program brings world leaders and scholars to campus. Recent visitors to campus have included former President George Bush; Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak; former presidential adviser David Gergen; Nobel Peace Prize winners Elie Wiesel, Desmond Tutu, and Lech Walesa; and Pulitzer Prize winners Thomas Friedman, David Halberstam, David McCullough and Anna Quindlen.
Phoenix athletics hosts about 115 home events annually, drawing about 68,000 fans. In addition, nearly 1,300 youngsters participate in eight summer youth sports camps at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ.