REPORT DOCUMENTS UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH'S VITAL ROLE IN SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA'S ECONOMY

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 9 -- The University of Pittsburgh's contributions to the economy of Southwestern Pennsylvania include supporting almost 25,000 jobs, generating $647 million in personal income for area residents and $840 million in revenue for the region's businesses, as well as playing a key role as a catalyst for the future growth of the region's economy. These are some of the findings in a new report which details Pitt's impact on the regional economy.

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said that the University produced the report to document the contributions that Pitt makes to the region. "Few organizations can touch and enrich lives as powerfully as a university," Nordenberg said. "Through its main enterprises of teaching, research and service, the University of Pittsburgh contributes to our home communities in a number of vital ways, generating billions of dollars in economic activity as well as developing and marketing industrial, environmental, and medical technologies that are transforming the economic landscape of Pennsylvania in many positive ways."

 Among the findings included in the report are:

• Pitt supports 24,650 jobs, of which 8,840 are directly employed by the University, 14,385 are jobs created by university-related spending, and 1,425 are jobs that exist to provide services to the University community.

• Spending by Pitt employees, students and visitors, along with the university's non-wage spending of $200 million generates $840 million in local business.

• Experts estimate that every dollar the University community spends on goods and services generates another 62 cents in local spending.

• County, municipal governments, and public school districts in Allegheny County receive annual University-related tax revenues of more than $66 million.

• Pitt annually imports $260 million in research funding into Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pitt ranks among the top recipients nationally of National Institutes of Health funding, National Science Foundation research funding, and in the receipt of support from private foundations.

• Of the 59 regional biomedical companies in Southwestern Pennsylvania, 25 have connections to Pitt's research and development activities.

• The University brings ideas from the lab to the marketplace, with 16 new Pitt-related companies founded in the last four years.

"This report demonstrates that the University of Pittsburgh and its partners generate billions of dollars in economic activity," Nordenberg said. "But perhaps even more importantly, Pitt develops technology and innovations that will help sustain the region and the nation for many years to come. As the region moves forward, we are privileged to work with industry and community leaders in dynamic ways to forge partnerships that will breathe new life into the local economy and secure our region's place in the world marketplace."

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NOTE: Copies of the complete report are available upon request.