As an economics junkie I was thrilled to read this recently released study on Oregon State University’s economic footprint. OSU’s economic footprint is around 1.5 billion dollars. This is huge news not only for OSU but for the State of Oregon as well! OSU is the state’s only university designated as having “Very High Research Activity” by the Carnegie Foundation.

I won’t put you to sleep with a lecture on economic impact and multipliers; just know that OSU with its Extension Services in every county, Hatfield Marine Science Center, multidisciplinary Spring Creek Project, Food Innovation Center, other research programs and special centers too numerous to name and of course the contribution of educated folks who are tomorrow’s (and today’s) engineers, doctors, artists, farmers and public servants…Makes a huge impact on every day life of Oregonians.

From the Impact Report:

Over the years, additional federal designations have been added for Sea Grant, Space Grant and Sun Grant institutions. Other than Cornell, OSU is the only university in America to hold all four – a distinction that provides real value for the 19,700 students (more than 80 percent of whom are Oregonians) who call OSU home.

That means, in part, that Oregon State has one of the broadest, most diverse research programs in the nation. This breadth is so wide-ranging, in fact, that OSU is the only Oregon campus to have earned the Carnegie Foundation’s premier designation, reserved for campuses that have “very high research activity.”

Behind those designations lie strengths in such areas as forestry, marine science, nanoscience and microtechnology, agricultural sciences, history, public health, veterinary medicine, creative writing, conservation biology, entrepreneurship and more.

The university has grown dramatically: Beaver alumni living around the world now number nearly 150,000. But OSU has never lost sight of its original mission. Making its intellectual resources available to students from Oregon and beyond will always be OSU’s primary focus.

This kind of news is exciting for a Land Grant Institution such as OSU because one of our key missions is to improve the state, country and world we live in. In my opinion the Land Grant mission creates a very unique energy on our campus. The learning, teaching and research are of course focused in the traditional ways but with a sense of service to our community.

Read the full report here (click)! Thirsty for more info on OSU’s research and innovation? Check out TERRA, OSU’s Research Magazine.

That’s it for now, folks. Thanks for reading. Questions, concerns or discussion? Comment away!

Stay real and BE WELL,

-jm