FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky State University President M. Christopher Brown II recently announced the findings of an economic impact study conducted by Hanover Research.
According to the findings by Hanover, the broader impact of all spending in the Bluegrass Higher Education Region in 2016 by Kentucky State and its students is approximately $130.7 million. The Bluegrass Region is a 16-county area in Kentucky.
“I think this institution is doing exceptionally good work and we hope to improve those numbers in the future,” President Brown said.
All of Kentucky State’s fiscal year 2016 spending also generated more than $48 million in labor income, supporting the equivalent of 1,037 jobs.
The analysis conducted approaches both on the supply-side and demand-side of Kentucky State’s economic impact to the region.
According to Hanover’s report, the demand-side analysis estimated the dollar-value impact of Kentucky State expenditures on the region, while the supply-side analysis assessed the benefits that Kentucky State provides to its students and the community it serves.
The overall estimated annual demand-side economic impact of Kentucky State is nearly $100 million.
“In other words, for every dollar of spending by Kentucky State and its students in the Bluegrass Region, there is an additional impact of 83 cents on the local economy or a total impact of $1.83,” according to the Hanover report. “This spending generates roughly $37.4 million in labor income and supports 890 jobs.”
On the supply side, the report found Kentucky State provides degree programs closely related to 14 high-growth occupations and enrolls a high proportion of low-income students. Those high-growth occupations are projected to create roughly 7,000 new jobs in the state over the next decade
The report also found over the last half decade, Kentucky State alumni add an estimated $30 million per year to Kentucky’s economy.
“Kentucky State also has a number of high-profile alumni whose precise economic impact is difficult to quantify, such as the first female prime minister of Thailand,” according to the report.
Total research and development (R&D) spending at Kentucky State was $16 million in 2017. Kentucky State R&D expenditures have increased faster than any other university in Kentucky, according to the report.
Finally, athletics programming accounts for roughly $4 million per year of added value to the local economy.
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