An in-depth study conducted by TischlerBise estimates the annual overall economic impact of Shenandoah University on the Winchester-Frederick County area at more than $145 million, with about 1,500 jobs supported by the university.
“Shenandoah University prides itself in being a good neighbor and a good friend to the City of Winchester, Frederick County and the Northern Shenandoah Valley,” said President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D. “We are thrilled to know that our economic impact on the surrounding areas is ever-growing. It speaks not only to the success of the university, but to the success of the localities and the members of the local community.”
The economic impact analysis process evaluates an entity’s economic benefit on a defined geographic location. It identifies direct impacts, that is, the actual number of employees of the entity as well as the jobs supported by the spending of the entity itself. In addition, direct impacts are generated through student and visitor spending.
Such an analysis also gauges the “spin-off” or “multiplier” effects that direct spending has on the location in terms of jobs, labor income, and total economic output or activity, through what are referred to as indirect and induced effects.
University administrators commissioned the study as an update to its initial 2010 economic impact study, which was conducted as part of the institution’s celebration of 50 years in Winchester.
“It’s not hard to see the influence Shenandoah University has had on the region since its move to Winchester in 1960,” said Harry Smith, treasurer of the Shenandoah University Board of Trustees. “This study speaks volumes to the university’s financial strength and its role as one of the largest employers in the area as well as one of the biggest contributors to our local economy.”
Some key findings of the report:
• University spending by employees and the university itself leads to approximately 1,179 jobs with an economic benefit of $105.5 million. This represents an increase of 139 jobs and $40.7 million of economic benefit from 2010.
• Student and visitor spending generate a total economic benefit of $40.2 million and 393 jobs. This represents an increase of 91 jobs and $15.5 million in economic benefit from 2010.
• Combined, the economic impact of the university is estimated at nearly $145.7 million with almost 1,571 jobs supported by the presence of the university (an increase of 230 jobs and $56.2 million of economic benefit from 2010).
• Shenandoah University currently employs 904 faculty and staff, excluding student employees, which is 1.7 percent of the total employment in the Winchester-Frederick County region and 19.1 percent of the educational services jobs in the area. Shenandoah ranks as the second-largest employer in the City of Winchester.
• Shenandoah University brings in almost $77 million (85 percent of its revenue) from outside the region because of enrollment that is drawn from outside Winchester-Frederick County. This money has the potential to be spent and recirculated locally.
Read the full report here.