New DSU Economic Impact Report released
A new Economic Impact Analysis has determined that Delaware State University returned almost $6 to the Delaware economy for every $1 that the state appropriated to DSU in 2016.
DSU shared the report – authored by the Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research at the University of Delaware – on Jan. 11 with elected members of the Delaware General Assembly. The UD researchers studied DSU’s 2016 economic output and poured its finding into the final report.
In 2016, the state of Delaware appropriated $40.5 million to DSU, while that same year the University injected $235 into the Delaware economy – $5.80 for every state dollar invested in DSU. That represented an increase of $28 million in DSU’s economic output within Delaware since the last economic impact study (completed in 2005).
The study used five categories of spending to calculated DSU total economic impact: compensation (wages, salaries and benefits to employees), operational spending (non-compensation and non-capital), capital spending (construction, machinery and equipment), student expenses (on and off campus), and the expenses of DSU visitors off campus.
The 2016 DSU total economic impact also notes that:
- That year DSU had a workforce of 269 full-time faculty, 130 part-time faculty, 750 staff members (professional, classified, administrative, hourly and part-timers), as well as 858 students who were employed in areas such as researchers, teaching assistance, operations, etc.).
- The wages and salaries of faculty, staff, administrators and adjuncts totaled almost $53.8 million. That group received a total of $23.2 million in benefits, resulting in a wages and benefits total of almost $77 million.
- Of the $83 million in operations (non-capital) spending, the report noted that 66% (more than $54 million) of that was paid to vendors and service providers within the state of Delaware.
- Through a combination of admissions and recruiting, athletics, conferences, alumni and other events, DSU attracted a conservative estimate of 51,600 visitors to its main campus in Dover, as well as its locations in Georgetown and Wilmington. That led to an estimate of $12.9 million spent that year by visitors at Delaware hotels, restaurants and retail.
- In 2016, DSU spent $12.4 million for construction, machinery and equipment. The report notes that no major construction took place that year, with the last major project (the Optical Science Center for Applied Research) completed in 2015. With the construction of a new residential facility slated for 2018, the report noted that construction spending should increase dramatically this year.
“Delaware State University remains true to its mission statement by serving as a significant economic engine in the state of Delaware,” said interim DSU President Wilma Mishoe. “It is our expectation that Delaware State University will continue to increase its already high standing as a major education and economic asset in the First State.