LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has more than 17,000 students and 2,500 employees. The university wanted to find out how they affect Acadiana.
UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie said the university had the Appleseed Group of New York City do an economic and community impact analysis.
“We thought it was important that we had an independent body come in and look at it,” Savoie said.
The group used the most recent data from 2015. Here are some of the report’s findings. The university’s students, staff, and visitors supported 5,525 jobs and had a $492 million impact on Lafayette Parish. The university generates $6.83 in economic impact for every dollar the state gives to it.
We’re not just talking about big purchases either. Even the little things add up. UL Lafayette college students will spend a lot of their money in the community off-campus.
“We went to go get frozen yogurt one time and we went out to eat and then I went to Walmart a couple times just to get little things that I realized I need that I forgot at home,” said Hannah Susslin, a freshman from New Orleans.
Jamyere Addison, another freshman from New Orleans, said, “Yeah we spend it but we don’t always have that much to spend, but we still spend it on things that we need.”
Dr. Savoie said university construction projects support about 500 jobs. He also said the university brings lots of federal money into Acadiana.
“This past year we brought in about $80 million in sponsored research. That’s money that wouldn’t be in this community if the university weren’t out there producing it,” Savoie said.
But he said economic impact is only part of the university’s contribution to Acadiana.
“The university has a tremendous cultural impact on the community, quality of life issues which attract people to want to come in and invest in the community,” Savoie said.
UL Lafayette said the economic impact study was privately funded. The state system did its own economic analysis back in 2010.