OSU helps every county in Oregon

Oregon State University estimates its economic footprint exceeds $1.5 billion per year, and is more than any other university or college in the state, according to university officials.

"We often point with great pride to the contributions that Oregon State University makes to the progress of science and to the education of our students, but less frequently recognize the impact OSU has from an economic standpoint," OSU President Ed Ray - himself an economist - said in an OSU press release.

The economic footprint includes the dollars that are spent and increased in the economy across the state as a result of OSU's presence in the state. That money includes salaries to employees, which are re-spent as living expenses, visitor dollars to OSU for athletic events and supplies purchases.

It doesn't, however, include the benefits of research to industries such as agriculture, or the value of graduates' education. "We're not even measuring the impact to the wheat farmer, where we are helping them be more profitable and have a better crop," said Rebecca Johnson, OSU vice provost for Academic Affairs and International Programs, as well as an economics professor.

The University of Oregon recently estimated its economic activity at $1.2 billion, while Portland State University listed its economic contributions at $1.07 billion in a 2005 report.

OSU's footprint is up 50 percent from a decade ago, partly because of higher enrollments. But it is higher than other Oregon universities because of $206 million in research funding.

"That's an enormous amount of income. That's frankly an income stream that other universities don't have," said Todd Simmons, assistant vice president for advancement at OSU.

OSU also has a statewide presence that its contemporaries lack, and its economic footprint stretches to include Oregon's 36 counties.

The university provides an average of nearly $1.2 million to each county through the extension service, research centers or experiment stations.

That doesn't include Benton and Linn counties, where the university delivers a combined $652 million.

Nick Beleiciks, an economist with the Oregon Employment Department, said he was surprised to see that nearly half of OSU's $675 million in revenue comes from outside the state. That particularly adds to Oregon's economy, he said.

Beleiciks helped write the report while getting his doctorate in economics from OSU.

Simmons said the recent study also used more conservative figures than contemporaries. "We've got real strong confidence in what it says," he added.

OSU's footprint may be even greater because it omits health benefits and retirement pay for its employees and uses information that is up to several years old, Simmons said. Newer, bigger numbers - such as from a construction boom on campus - would result in even higher figures.

The university's expenditures are responsible for more than 16,000 full- and part-time jobs for Oregonians statewide. "Not all of those are OSU employees. When we go out in the community and spend our paychecks, we are creating more jobs," Johnson said.

OSU last measured its economic footprint in 1996. In today's dollars, that figure was about $1 billion.

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.