Private colleges a boon to NNY

The north country's three private colleges are a boon to the region's economy, according to a report from the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.

Together, the three colleges, one in Franklin County and two in St. Lawrence County, contribute $563 million annually to the economy, the report said, including institutional spending and money spent by students and visitors.

"There's no question, as we listened to President Obama's State of the Union last night, that higher education is critical to the economic future of the nation. That innovation, entrepreneurship, and science, technology, engineering and math skills and all of that is connected with the economy of the future," Anthony G. Collins, chairman of the board of trustees of the commission and president of Clarkson University, Potsdam, said Wednesday. "One of the greatest assets of New York state is higher education."

The data are based on figures from 2009 and represent an increase of $42 million over private colleges' contribution in 2007, which was $521 million, according to the commission.

Of the three colleges, St. Lawrence University's individual contribution to the regional economy was the largest, more than $275 million, approximately $20 million of which comes from visitors to the Canton campus and students. The rest is from payroll and construction projects, among other things.

"We have always known that for St. Lawrence University to thrive, our region must also thrive," President William L. Fox said in a statement. "The results of this study show concretely many ways that St. Lawrence is contributing to the area that is our home."

The college employs slightly more than 900 people and contributes $1.6 million in state and local sales tax.

Clarkson University came in just below St. Lawrence, pumping $225 million into the local economy in 2009, according to the report. It employs about the same number of people as St. Lawrence.

Both of the universities rank in the county's top 10 employers.

"The numbers are quite dramatic," Mr. Collins said. "We expect our 2010 numbers for Clarkson to be even stronger. Our board of trustees felt that we need to move more aggressively forward."

In 2010, Clarkson did the bulk of the construction on its nearly 60,000-square-foot student center and several other renovation projects on campus.

Paul Smith's College, Paul Smiths, contributed $64 million to Franklin County's economy and is the 11th largest employer in the region, according to the state Department of Labor. The school employs slightly more than 200 people.

"We've long recognized that we're an engine of this area's economy," college spokesman Kenneth Aaron said. "We also don't underestimate the value of our graduates. Many of our students, when they graduate, want to stay in the Adirondacks."

The commission released similar reports for the rest of the state's regions. The state's 113 private colleges and universities enroll 470,000 students, nearly 200,000 of whom are from outside the state. Private schools across the state generated $54 billion for the economy and employed more than 174,000 people, according to the commission.

"We are anchor tenants; we do not have the capacity to move overseas," Mr. Collins said. "We are here to stay and we are so committed to helping grow the economy of the region, and that's true of all the colleges."