By Kevin Ford
Student Reporter
A study released last week by the State Chamber Research Foundation shows Northwestern Oklahoma State University has a significant impact on local, regional and state economies.
The study showed Northwestern supported approximately $58.1 million in total economic output for FY2016, including direct expenditures of $43.8 million in spending by faculty, staff and students.
The study concluded that Oklahoma’s system of higher education plays a large and increasingly important role in Oklahoma’s ongoing economic development efforts through developing an increasingly skilled and competitive state labor force.
“It is important that Oklahoma views public funding of higher education as an investment in future success, not just a line-item expenditure,” said Dr. Janet Cunningham, university president. “We are a college town and generate most of our input through our college students.”
Dr. Cunningham said. Northwestern has several internships and grant programs which generate working contracts with local businesses as well as counseling members.
The community is well intact with the university. Along with internships and grant programs, Northwestern has a contract with Bill Johnson Correctional Center in Alva.
“Alumni recognize the opportunities generated by their time at Northwestern and when they come back to teach, coach and educate newer generations at Northwestern, that strengthens both the local economy and the community as a whole,” Dr. Cunningham said.
As a result of the study the State of Chambers commissioned, Northwestern’s value to the state was recognized. “Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities serve as an anchor in their cities, towns and regions as they contribute to the stability of their communities,” said State Chamber Research Foundation Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Lepard. “The study shows what we’ve known to be true for a while, increased higher education is an underlying source of economic growth, both in the U.S. and internationally.”
The biggest indicator of a thriving community is when people who first came to Northwestern as students, return later as employees. Shane Hansen is an instructor of health and sports science at Northwestern. He has been affiliated with Northwestern since 2004.
He mentioned how the university has a high tax revenue and how much extra spending comes as a result of athletic events. Hansen lives in Alva with his wife Kaylyn Hansen and their two kids. “With me buying a house in Alva and my children going to school, that is a way in which I pay taxes and generate revenue for the university,” Hansen said. “I have seen a large number of people come to Northwestern as a student, leave and come back as an employee,” Hansen said.
The town of Alva has an incentive, passed by the city council, the Alva incentive is money from sales tax which goes to the University for scholarships for first time students. Many of Northwestern’s scholarships come from the tax revenue generated by short-term and long-term connections with the University. It’s an investment from the community into the University.