Penn State Shenango Adds $19.4M to Economy

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Shenango contributed $19.4 million to the Pennsylvania economy and supported 253 jobs in the Keystone State in fiscal year 2017, according to a new study released by Penn State, focused on measuring the university’s impact in the state’s communities.

Overall, the study found that Penn State contributed more than $11.6 billion to the state’s economy. More than 102,000 Pennsylvania jobs can be attributed to Penn State on the whole, the study found. And for every $1 in state appropriations received by Penn State, the university returns $1.24 in tax payments to the community.

“As an urban campus in the heart of downtown Sharon, our collaboration with the city’s leadership and community is a key component to its continued growth and revitalization,” said Jo Anne Carrick, Penn State Shenango campus director. “We have a strong working relationship with Sharon, as well as our neighboring cities, who recognize the value and economic impact of having a Penn State campus in their community.”

The study focused on quantifying the direct and extended impact of the university’s spending on goods and services in Pennsylvania, employee pay and benefits, spending on renovations and new facilities, student spending, and operations expenditures for Penn State Health. It also found that Penn State’s 24-campus locations spread the university’s economic contributions into communities in all corners of Pennsylvania, in a way that is unmatched by any other university in the Commonwealth.

“Our university, with 24 locations across the commonwealth, an academic medical center and a growing health system, is an engine that drives the economy and improves lives in all 67 Pennsylvania counties,” said Eric J. Barron, Penn State president.

Outside of University Park and Penn State Health, the study found that Penn State operations and student spending at campus locations across the commonwealth combined for more than $2 billion in total economic contributions, with most of those impacts coming in the county in which each campus is situated.

Picture: Penn State Shenango VenturePointe Incubator located at the eCenter @ LindenPointe in Hermitage, Pa.