Report: WSU Contributed $730 Million To Economy

Sat., March 7, 1998

By Andrea Vogt andreav@spokesman.com

Washington State University contributed $730 million to the state economy in fiscal year 1996.

That makes the university’s statewide economic impact more than triple the $226 million legislators appropriated in state funding, according to a WSU report released Friday.

“By any means, you’ve got to be impressed when you see the findings,” Les Purce, vice-president for extended university affairs, told the WSU Board of Regents.

WSU’s $730 million economic footprint translates into jobs for more than 10,000 faculty, staff and students. The figure is based on WSU spending, employee earnings, goods and services produced and grants and scholarships spent in Washington.

The report, generated by WSU economists using state statistics, will be used in presentations to the community and Legislature over the next year, Purce said.

In 1996, $226 million in state funding made up 44 percent of WSU’s total $515 million budget. WSU’s total expenditures of $521 million in fiscal year 1996 had a ripple effect that multiplied the statewide impact to $730 million, according to WSU economist Ernie Stromsdorfer.

“In a nutshell, an investment in higher education at WSU is a very good one, a good deal for the individual, the society, the state and the taxpayer,” Stromsdorfer said.

, DataTimes

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