At Age 50, University of South Florida Touts Economic Punch

By Dave Simanoff, Tampa Tribune, Fla.

Jan. 18–TAMPA — University of South Florida officials kicked off the school’s year long 50th anniversary celebration Tuesday by talking about green and gold.

But they weren’t referring to the school colors.

Past and present school leaders gathered to unveil a study that says USF contributes $3.2 billion each year to the regional economy — about three times as much as a decade ago.

The figure includes the more than $1 billion USF spends each year on items such as payroll, new buildings, financial aid, research and operations. It also includes indirect spending, such as the amount USF employees and students spend on housing, food and health care.

“When USF succeeds, Tampa Bay succeeds and benefits,” university P resident Judy Genshaft said. The state’s decision to found the university in 1956 has proved to be a “very savvy investment” that’s now paying enormous dividends, she said.

You don’t need to read the entire 12-page report to discover that USF is an economic dynamo in the Tampa Bay area, or that the university is growing in size and stature.

In 1994, the university had 10,293 employees and accounted for $1.1 billion in direct and indirect spending in the local economy, according to a report that year by USF’s Center for Economic & Management Research.

Today, USF boasts nearly 12,500 employees, and its economic impact is three times larger.

The university has 43,000 students on its four campuses; in 1994 it had 36,058 on five campuses. The school’s budget for the 2003-04 school year was $1.3 billion, compared with $449.9 million in 1994. In 2004, USF spent $614.7 million alone on faculty and staff paychecks.

Staying After Graduation Jose Valiente, chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and a founding partner of the Tampa accounting firm ValienteHernandez, said USF graduates help constitute a well-educated work force that attracts new employers to the area, a fact hard to measure in dollars and cents.

Dick Beard, chairman of USF’s board of trustees, said USF physicians see more than 1,000 patients each day. He also said the university’s Small Business Development Center has helped more than 75,000 local businesses since it began.

Former USF P resident Betty Castor said the economic study reflects how the university has an “enormous impact” on both the intellectual capacities and the quality of life in the Tampa Bay region.

Many colleges and universities estimate how much money they contribute to their local economies. For example, the University of Miami reported last year that it’s responsible for $3.9 billion in direct and indirect spending in South Florida.

Colleges and universities have a big effect on their local economies because they are major employers and because students account for a great deal of spending, said Beatrice Baldwin, assistant vice president for academic affairs at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La., and co-author of “Estimating a University’s Economic and Community Impact: Principles, Procedures, and Outcomes,” a paper presented in 1998.

Baldwin said that although it is relatively easy to measure how much organizations and people spend, it is impossible to measure the value of educating students or what alumni contribute to a region.

“I wouldn’t even begin to know how to approach putting together some kind of model for that,” she said.

More Spending Ahead USF officials say the university’s next 50 years will include even more spending — and, as a result, an even greater impact for the regional economy.

Genshaft said USF is moving toward its goal of becoming one of the country’s top 50 research universities in the United States in 2010. USF research spending has grown from $135 million in 1998 to $290.1 million in 2003, according to the glossy summary of the report released Tuesday.

She also hopes the study helps people understand the role the university plays in their everyday lives.

“When the university grows, so does this economy,” Genshaft said.

BY THE NUMBERS:

–USF campuses: 4

–Total enrollment: 42,950

–Graduate and undergraduate programs: 203

–Employees: 12,477

–Alumni: 189,241 (90,000 living in Tampa Bay area)

ECONOMIC IMPACT 101: Total direct and indirect spending:

–Construction: $206,380,901

–Faculty and staff payroll: $1,220,381,394

–Research funding: $343,988,109

–Student spending: $28,248,094

–Operations: $635,613,821

–State funding: $155,830,369

–Financial aid: $597,167,864

Source: University of South Florida

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