M ost San Diegans can rattle off a long list of benefits of living in a city with more than two dozen colleges and universities. Included would be the whirls of pure knowledge that whip up around institutions of higher learning, the energy and imagination of their students, and the intellectual and cultural influence of faculties and staffs. Our oldest institution of higher learning, San Diego State University, has now been energizing San Diego County for 100 years. We'd love SDSU without the financial justification, but the numbers do paint a vivid picture.
Enormous value is derived from the trickle-down effect.
Every dollar injected into the economy by SDSU generates an additional 69 cents of production by local industries. When all of these numbers are bundled together, it means there are 430 additional jobs developed locally per 1,000 students. The authors of the SDSU study are quick to agree that a university's greatest contributions can't be measured by dollars, since they involve intangibles such as the infusion of new knowledge, community services, cultural enrichment and the benefits of a well educated population. Nevertheless, the study included an inventory of the myriad activities that flow out of SDSU into the community. From sea water monitoring to art exhibits to band camp, it's an impressive list.