In an op-ed published by U.S. News & World Report titled “Why Hurting Universities Hurts America’s Bottom Line,” Mark Zupan emphasizes the critical economic contributions of higher education institutions beyond their academic and research functions. He argues that cutting support for universities could undermine broader economic prosperity.
Zupan explains that colleges and universities are not only centers of learning and innovation but also major economic engines. They provide employment, invest in local communities, and stimulate regional economies through procurement of goods and services. According to his analysis, nearly half of the 100 most productive counties in the United States host at least one research-intensive university. Despite representing less than 1.5 percent of all U.S. counties, these 44 areas generate 35 percent of the nation’s total economic output.
He further notes that the financial impact of American higher education exceeds the combined export value of key commodities such as natural gas, coal, soybeans, and corn. Institutions of higher learning serve as foundational pillars for major innovation clusters, including Greater Boston, Silicon Valley in Northern California, North Carolina’s Research Triangle, and Austin, Texas—regions known for technological advancement and entrepreneurial activity.
Zupan warns that weakening investment in universities risks diminishing America’s competitive edge in knowledge-based industries, which are central to the modern economy. Sustained public and private support, he asserts, is essential to maintaining both economic vitality and technological leadership.
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Why Hurting Universities Hurts America’s Bottom Line
In the piece, titled “Why Hurting Universities Hurts America’s Bottom Line,” Zupan questions the wisdom of investing in the manufacturing sector at the expense of the knowledge-based services which currently drive the U.S. economy. n n“Universities do far more than educate future leaders, create knowledge and drive scientific, medical and technological research and innovation,” Zupan writes. “They also power local and national economies by employing, training and investing in their communities and purchasing local goods and services.” n nZupan notes that of the 100 U.S. counties with the highest productivity, nearly half are home to at least one research university. “These 44 communities represent less than 1.5 percent of the counties in America, yet they generate 35 percent of the nation’s economic output,” he writes. n nHe also points out that American institutions of higher education bring in more money to the nation’s economy than the combined exports of natural gas, coal, soybeans, and corn. “It is universities that anchor the vibrant economic and technological hubs of greater Boston, northern California’s Silicon Valley, North Carolina’s Research Triangle and Austin, Texas.”