UMass Medical School generated $1.7 billion in economic activity in FY 2013, an amount 42 times greater than the $41 million investment the state made in it, according to a new report. The study by the UMass Donahue Institute shows for every $1 invested in UMMS, the medical school yielded a return of $42.
“UMMS is a key economic driver in the commonwealth, directly or indirectly affecting every person in the state,” the May 22 report states.
UMMS contributes to the economy through local operating expenditures, one-time major construction expenditures, the spending of UMMS’s faculty and staff, and the spending of its students. Much of the UMMS spending flows beyond the campus to a variety of goods and services, generating significant benefits for the Massachusetts economy, according to the report.
The study highlighted the role that the UMass system and its five campuses played in boosting the economy of their respective regions and the entire state. It showed that UMMS receives 4 percent of its operating budget from state revenue, yet produces 28 percent of the overall $6.1billion economic impact generated by all five campuses. UMMS employs 7,945 people.
"This report demonstrates that in addition to providing academic excellence in a wide variety of disciplines and internationally recognized research, the University of Massachusetts is a significant economic driver for the Commonwealth," said UMass President Robert L. Caret. "State investment in UMass leverages significant in-state and out-of-state resources and activity such as federal research grants and innovative business start-up and technology commercialization. The ripple effect of our activities directly or indirectly touches every person in the state."
The purpose of the Donahue Institute report was to provide an objective analysis to quantify the economic contributions of the University of Massachusetts system and its campuses on the commonwealth’s economy. In addition to UMMS in Worcester, the University has campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell, and also operates programs in 75 other facilities across the state.
