New data shows Indiana State University contributes about $334 million to its surrounding community. The study, conducted by Thomas P. Miller and Associates, covered the university's impact over five Indiana and two Illinois counties.
Vice President for University Engagement, Dr. Nancy Rogers, says the university initiates studies like these about every five years.
"Just so we have a sense of the impact that we're having on both the local community, the region, and then of course, the state," Rogers says.
Researchers focused on "economic output" or what transactions had been made as a direct or indirect result of the university. Thomas P. Miller and Associates Director of Research Brian Points says that looking at ISU jobs was one of the most significant ways of measuring this impact.
"That's people who are going to work, and receiving a wage that but for the existence of ISU, they wouldn't," Points says.
Points describes the impact of jobs from Indiana State as a ripple effect. He found that every 100 jobs at ISU creates or supports an additional 18 jobs in the community.
ISU will publish a final report from the study later this month.