SIU HAS MAJOR ECONOMIC IMPACT ON ILLINOIS, REGION

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A recently completed study shows that Southern Illinois University has a tremendous impact on downstate Illinois, with an annual economic impact of close to $1 billion.

SIU's presence pumped $934 million into 40 Southern Illinois counties in fiscal year 1991 alone, the study shows. Economists conducting the study tied $467 million of that to expenditures directly related to the university. Once those dollars are injected into the local economy, they trigger another $467 million of indirect expenditures, the study showed.

SIU Chancellor James M. Brown said, "Every tax dollar received by SIU generated $5.07 of direct and indirect economic activity.

"While our first mission is education, these figures prove our economic influence is considerable," said Brown. "Much of the region's economic wellbeing can be traced to SIU's economic productivity."

Most of the university's economic power is concentrated near its campuses in Carbondale and Edwardsville, and in Springfield, where the SIU School of Medicine is situated. And while 40 counties in the region benefit the most, the study showed that nearly every county in the state is benefited economically in some way by SIU.

SIU bought goods and services in all but two counties of Illinois and payroll dollars went to faculty, staff and students from all but three counties.

The study was directed by Donald S. Elliott, professor of economics at SIU-Edwardsville. He explained that the study was intentionally designed to project an "ultra conservative" picture of the university's economic influence. Also, the study focused only on the school's influence in Illinois, and not its impact on cities and counties in nearby states.

In 1993, SIU ranked as the 21st largest employer in the state, with 14,200 employees. That total includes student workers and graduate assistants.

In Jackson County, where the Carbondale campus is situated, SIU has 10,693 of its employees with an annual payroll of just over $110 million. SIU has annual purchases of $22.7 million in Jackson County.

Union County has 378 residents employed by SIU, with a payroll totaling $6.2 million; the school spends $229,285 in the county. Pulaski County has 22 SIU employees and an annual payroll of $168,000; the school spent $50,344 in the county last year. In Alexander County, SIU has 19 employees with a payroll of $139,000 and annual purchases of $26,430.

Not only did the study look at direct expenditures by SIU, but in order to get a total picture of the university's economic impact it also calculated the spending of students, faculty, staff, visitors to the university, and retirees living near the campuses.

For example, researchers calculated how much the region received from the state and compared those figures to money paid through sales taxes and personal and corporate income taxes.

Tax payments from residents and businesses in the 40 county area accounted for approximately $1.25 billion, or 12.4 percent of the state's total general tax revenues of $10.1 billion. By applying that percentage to SIU's budget, the researchers concluded that $22.8 million of support for the entire SIU region originated in the 40 counties.

Said Elliott: "This region contributed $22.8 million to SIU and reaped $467 million in direct benefits and $934 million in total economic benefits. That clearly makes Southern Illinois a net beneficiary of higher-education spending."

He said that while SIU's primary mission revolves around teaching, research and service, he hopes the study will draw more attention to higher education's fourth dimension, which is its contribution to economies in the region.

"Universities are catalysts to economic systems," explained Elliott. "They provide job opportunities and income directly, and they draw revenue from outside the region, creating even more jobs for local residents."

Some $595 million of personal income and 19,078 jobs can be attributed to SIU. By sector, that includes: at SIU itself, $293 million (8,961 jobs); service, $175 million (5,416 jobs); $38.7 million in elementary and secondary education (2,462 jobs); $32.2 million in wholesale and retail trade (1,179 jobs); $29.2 million in transportation and public utilities (351 jobs); manufacturing with $14.6 million (333 jobs); construction $5.4 million (136 jobs); government, $3.7 million (135 jobs); agriculture, $1.8 million (55 jobs); and mining, $1.5 million (50 jobs).

Elliott explained that these employment numbers convert seasonal and part-time jobs to yearlong full-time equivalents.

Discussing the $467 million direct spending portion of the study, Elliott said, "Direct expenditures would include a student buying a movie ticket, faculty buying groceries, the university purchasing supplies and similar transactions."

But, he said, the original dollars will continue to affect local economies.

Said Elliott: "In the case of the movie, some ticket money will pay ushers and ticket-takers. They in turn will spend a portion of their paychecks in the region; in SIU's case this approximately doubles the impact of original spending."

Universities also provide a wide range of more intangible economic benefits. They upgrade a region's overall job skills, provide new knowledge that business people in the area can use, and serve as a source of expert, and often free advice to local governments and non-profit corporations.

Besides Elliott, other study team members included John B. Meisel and Stanford L. Levin, from SIUE; and from the Carbondale campus, Roger J. Beck, associate professor of agribusiness economics, Patrick Curry, former SIUC researcher, Rhonda J. Vinson, director of economic and regional development, and Michael Wagner, an agribusiness economics researcher.