Georgia and Iowa Gauge Impact of Their Universities

Describing the impact of universities can be a vexing issue for both the higher education and TBED communities. Two recent reports, one by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) and the other by the Iowa Board of Regents, utilize different approaches to help communicate the importance of higher education institutions to a local economy.

 

The ARCHE report combines economic development statistics derived from input-output analysis with the personal stories of seven individuals who in some form are heavily influenced by the presence of the 49 degree-granting, accredited higher education institutions located in the Atlanta region. The report emphasizes the economic and social impact that the region’s universities have on hundreds of thousands of individuals and the state of Georgia. Some of the economic impacts of the region’s universities include:

• $10.8 billion in spending from institutions, employees, students, visitors and capital expenditures, the total of which is equal to 3.2 percent of the annual gross state product of Georgia;
• 129,000 jobs are created in Georgia each year in a variety of industry sectors, which is about one in every 25 jobs in Georgia; and,
• $2.4 billion in state and local taxes paid to Georgia by the alumni of ARCHE institutions.

Each year, the Iowa Board of Regents collects quantifiable information about the sources for external research support and the technology transfer production at the state’s three public universities. For the most recent fiscal year, the total sponsored funding for research at these universities was $442 million. During the same period, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and Northern Iowa University were responsible for 235 patent applications, 80 new patents, $24.62 million in royalty and fee income, and $44.79 million in revenue from Iowa companies as a direct result of university technologies.



The executive director of the Board of Regents stated that Iowa is second in the nation, only behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the total number of patents applied for by students, staff and faculty. In addition, the board report states that 10,000 businesses and individuals representing the 99 Iowa counties received technical services and training through programs at these three universities.



The Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education report is available at: http://www.atlantahighered.org/archereports/econimpact.asp

 

Further details about the funding sources and technology transfer production from the public universities in Iowa can be found at: http://www2.state.ia.us/regents/Meetings/DocketMemos/06Memos/nov06/1106_ITEM02a.pdf



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