LSU Eunice a $1 billion community asset

It’s not an exaggeration to label LSU Eunice a $1 billion contributor to the regional economy.
And that does not take into account the immeasurable impact of the university on students and their families, as well as the community.
A study released by the LSU Division of Economic Development at the E. J. Ourso College of Business has determined that LSU’s economic impact on Louisiana totals $3.9 billion annually.
The study measures the impact of all nine LSU campuses – LSU, the LSU AgCenter, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, LSU Alexandria, LSU Eunice, LSU Shreveport, and the LSU Health Sciences Centers in Shreveport and New Orleans – at both the state level and on a regional basis.
The total economic impact of LSU Eunice on the Lafayette MSA, which consists of Lafayette and St. Martin Parishes, is $47.2 million in sales, $17.1 million in earnings, and 515 jobs.
The school is home to approximately 190 full-time LSU employees. The university spending and student spending associated with LSU Eunice was used to generate impact estimates for the region.
“Each year LSU Eunice infuses our region’s economy with $30.08 million which, when spent again and again magnifies into a five-fold total fiscal impact of $150.4 million.”
“That dollar amount does not include the student spending impact, and nor does it include the human impact which the faculty, staff and students/graduates provide to the communities within which they reside and to which they enrich through their talents and contributions,” said William Nunez, chancellor of LSU Eunice.
“In short, for nearly 50 years LSU Eunice has been an economic and talent engine for the greater Acadiana region.”
The numbers can be startling. For instance, the Eunice campus budget for the past five state fiscal years totals about $110 million.
Using the economic developer’s standard of a dollar turning over five times, that puts the fiscal impact over five years alone at about $550 million.
Adding more than 40 years of budget spending before 2009-10 leaves little doubt the spending impact has passed the $1 billion mark.
A conservative estimate is that about 6,000 students have attained two-year degrees or gone on from LSU Eunice to finish four or more years of college education.
Studies show a college degree is worth about $1 million more in earnings over an individual’s life’s work.
Do the math. Six thousand students, with the potential of earning a million dollars more each during their working years. It’s a staggering sum.
Of course, just measuring the school’s economic impact fails to account for contributions made to their communities’ well-being by men and women who have attended the university.
From health care to public safety, teaching to preaching, LSU Eunice alumni help weave a stronger fabric wherever they choose to live and work.
Another community-building asset of the university is the civic and cultural contribution made from faculty and staff members.
A compilation of things LSU Eunice’s employees have been involved in would include:
Rotary, Kiwanis, Eunice Economic Development Committee, Eunice Players’ Theater, St. Landry Economic and Industrial Development District, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Keep America Beautiful,
Book Buddies, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Eunice Community Health Clinic, 4-H Advisory Council, CASA, Louisiana Special Olympics, American Nystagmus Network, Roberts Cove Germanfest volunteer,
Eunice Nutcracker Museum volunteer, Eunice Community Garden, St. Landry/Evangeline Parish United Way, St. Landry Parish Literacy Coalition, Eunice Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trustees of the Acadiana Medical Center, Louisiana Review Reading Series, LSUE Performing Arts.
Additionally, numerous faculty serve on national and state committees, and hold membership in associations for their respective fields.
“It’s no surprise that LSU has such an economic impact on Louisiana,” said LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander. “With campuses, research stations and extension offices in every corner of our state, we don’t just make money for Louisiana – we attract new business and industry, provide solutions to the state’s most pressing issues and improve the overall quality of life for our citizens. We do this all with a keen eye toward value because we believe it’s important to provide exceptional higher education opportunities without an inflated price tag and a lifetime of debt.”