A new report outlines the local economic impact of Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College. The story it tells is compelling and important. It's a story of hard data and open doors for the future, as this report will eventually assist higher education and area businesses and organizations in their recruitment and retention efforts.

It's also about the economic activity related to higher education, ranging from the consumer spending of 14,475 employees and 30,000 students per year to millions of dollars to educate, house, feed and transport them.

Some highlights:

* In 2007, Cornell, Ithaca and TC3 spent $787 million locally on payroll and $182 million on goods and services, the latter figure excluding construction. Each dollar the institutions spend in the local economy is re-spent by employees using their paychecks for housing, food, transportation and other necessities and by businesses that hire area residents to service their college accounts. This additional activity contributed to a total impact of nearly $1.5 billion in 2007.

* The majority of Cornell and Ithaca College students are from outside Tompkins County, and TC3 draws a third of its students from outside the Tompkins-Cortland service area. Most of these students live in Tompkins County nine months of every year and depend on area businesses for a host of needs. Off-campus student spending was worth an estimated $145 million in 2007.

* In 2007, Cornell spent $179 million on primary contracts for construction on its Ithaca campus, not including projects under the New York State University Construction Fund, creating an estimated 726 jobs in Tompkins County. Ithaca College spent more than $19 million on construction that year. Although the current recession has dampened construction in general, demand for new and modernized facilities continues, and will be met as recovery takes hold.

* Collectively, the three institutions attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area each year, including commencements, reunions, athletic events, parts of the Discovery Trail, college tours, hundreds of programs, lectures, and concerts, and an endless list of other reasons. The benefits to our local businesses, governmental tax coffers and the economy at large are substantial.

* Expanded, individual campus economic analyses also yielded important data, including TC3's study on social benefits. Because people with higher education are less likely to smoke or abuse alcohol, draw social services or commit crimes, the study found that the state benefits from nearly $1 million in avoided costs because of TC3's presence, with most of that savings occurring locally. Other campus analyses profiled a healthy return on public funding investments in higher education.

The CU-IC-TC3 joint economic impact statement on higher education touches on the intangibles too, like cultural activities, student volunteerism, and a greater proactivity on environmental issues. We're proud of this first-time effort and encourage you to access more details and data on our joint economic impact statement at www.govrelations.cornell.edu.