April 24, 2003 - Today's Other News Items

Oregonians Get $10 Back for Every Dollar Invested in UO

Oregonians got back $10 for every dollar they invested in the University of Oregon last year--considerably more than the pay off they could have expected from investing on Wall Street.

The UO returned $703 million to Oregon's economy in fiscal year 2000-2001 compared to the $71 million it received in state appropriations, according to a study by labor economist Larry Singell. Most of this is spent in Oregon, including the more than half a billion dollars in direct and indirect wages and salaries generated by the UO.

The majority of the university's revenue came from sources outside Oregon.

During the period covered by the study, the UO attracted $58 million in grants and contracts and another $87 million in federal student aid programs.

Moreover, student internships in school, government agencies and private businesses provided an additional $2.2 million to Oregon's economy.

And that's just the short-term impact.

The study also notes that the UO creates wealth in the state through the development of new knowledge. Since opening an Office of Technology Transfer in 1992 and starting the Riverfront Research Park in 1993, the university has helped its faculty develop 61 patents and 53 license options and nurtured 13 start-up companies.

"The primary business of a university is educating its students," says Singell. "It's a great investment. Over their careers, UO graduates also return to Oregon $1.60 in income taxes for every dollar that the state invests in their education--a return that is 4.5 times better than the stock market average over the past 50 years."

Singell is a professor and labor economist at the UO. The Office of University Advancement and the UO College of Arts and Sciences funded the study.

To download (in Acrobat Reader format) the full 32-page report, "A Study of the Economic Impact of the University of Oregon," please go to http://comm.uoregon.edu/news/UO_Economic_Impact_Study.pdf.