A recent study has found that Syracuse University, along with eight other institutions, contributed about three billion dollars to the central New York economy.

The study, which was released last week by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities and is conducted every two years, measured the economic impact of private colleges and universities for 2013 in New York state. Le Moyne College, Cazenovia College and Colgate University are three of the others included in the central New York region.

The study measured factors such as institutional spending, student and visitor spending, employment and enrollment. Student spending, according to the report, totaled over $150 million for the central New York colleges.

Erin Kane, associate vice president for public relations at SU, said in an email that the study illustrates how important the university is to the regional economy. The study estimates that SU’s total economic impact is $2.1 billion, she said.

Kane added that the study, “demonstrates that our students, faculty and staff are active and engaged residents of Syracuse and Central New York and that our impact extends well beyond the campus itself.

In central New York, independent colleges and universities spent $2.7 billion in institutional impact. Topics such as research, administration and construction spending fall under that category. Students and visitors spent upward of $330 million.

Donald Dutkowsky, an economics professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said the adage “eds and meds” applies to the study’s findings. He explained that education and medicine are two areas that particularly promote growth.

“Colleges and universities aren’t going away,” he said.

The numbers for the central New York region are comparable to those that include other major cities in New York. In western New York, which includes the city of Buffalo, Canisius College, Niagara University and St. Bonaventure University, the economic impact was only $1.4 billion. It did not include the State University of New York at Buffalo in the study.

Student spending is also a very important factor for local businesses. Armory Square and Destiny USA are popular destinations for students, but businesses in other locations rely on students as well.

Steve Morrison, owner of The Mission restaurant and an SU alumnus, said SU students make up approximately 20 percent of his business. He added that since The Mission is not located in Armory Square and is “off the beaten path,” he is happy with that number.

“It’s really helpful that there’s such a huge diversity at the university,” Morrison said.

Colleges and universities are growing in their economic impact across the state. According to the report, between the 2011 study and the most recent 2013 one, the total economic impact of the colleges increased $11.1 billion, or 18 percent.

Accordingly, total employment has increased 5 percent across the state to nearly 394,400 since 2011 as enrollment reached 491,852 in 2013.

Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities President Laura Anglin said in a press release that New York depends on higher education for much of its economy.

Said Anglin: “New York state continues to depend on its higher education institutions to educate our next generation of leaders, as well as contribute to our future economic growth.”

Published on February 25, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Danny: dmantoot@syr.edu