Forbes.com has listed NDSU and Fargo as number five in an article called “Top College Towns for Jobs,” published on May 19. The article by Matt Woolsey carries the headline “Post-grads in these 20 metros where job growth is rising should stay put.” The article is available at www.forbes.com/2009/05/19/college-towns-jobs-lifestyle-real-estate-jobs….
“Universities play a vital role in the economy of a region and the recognition by a well-known business publication such as Forbes shows the impact of North Dakota State University, as we strive to create educational and economic opportunities for North Dakota and the region,” said NDSU President Joseph A. Chapman.
The Forbes article suggests that research universities are conducive to great environments for business, providing an educated labor force and centers of innovation stemming from university research. “The growth of research activities at NDSU, from $44 million in 1999 to more than $115 million today, underscores not only the opportunities that research presents for students, faculty and staff, but already clearly shows a positive effect on the area’s economy,” said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer at NDSU.
To conduct its analysis of top college towns for jobs, Forbes used U.S. metropolitan statistical area data and metropolitan divisions as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The magazine also examined job growth using data from Moody’s Economy.com. A senior economist from Moody’s quoted in the article “notes that for every job created by a university or college, between one-half and one full job are created in the surrounding economy.” The article pegs the percentage of workers in university jobs in Fargo at 2.9 percent and Fargo’s job growth since 2008 at 2.45 percent, based on statistics from Moody’s Economy.com. The entire list of college towns is found at
www.forbes.com/2009/05/19/college-towns-jobs-lifestyle-real-estate-jobs….
The article also notes that all universities are affected by investment performance on university endowments and suggests that a school such as Harvard University with a large endowment may experience less economic impact than smaller schools such as NDSU.
In addition to NDSU and Fargo at number five in the Top College Towns for Jobs article, the list includes universities in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
May 20, 2009