University of Texas Arlington

Economic report puts value on UT Arlington

How do you demonstrate to your boss that you're worth your keep? If you're a state university that answers to the public by way of the Legislature, you ask an economist to quantify your value, a Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial said. When Waco-based Ray Perryman crunched the numbers about The University of Texas at Arlington, he estimated the school's impact from ongoing operations as $1 billion in output and 14,685 permanent jobs in North Central Texas, even higher when projected statewide. Total external benefits, which includes the effects of spin-off research and graduates employed in North Texas (almost 69 percent of UTA alums live in North Texas), came to a $12.8 billion annual impact and 122,295 jobs in the region and $13.6 billion statewide, the editorial noted.