Analysis says Duke's annual economic impact on Durham amounts to $3.2 billion

Editorial

Cynics will say that Duke's analysis of its economic impact on Durham was timed to provide a dose of good publicity at a moment when the university sorely needs one. But in fact, the reports have been compiled since 1997, this one had been in the works for months, and its unveiling at a Chamber of Commerce lunch Thursday was planned long before the lacrosse story became international news.

An objective look at the report confirms what one would imagine -- Duke is an essential pillar supporting the local economy. Without Duke, Durham would be a much-diminished place that would bear little resemblance to the town we know and love.

For starters, Duke is Durham County's largest employer, and the largest private employer in the Triangle. Duke is also the third largest private employer in the state. (Trivia question: What are the two larger ones? Answer: 1.Walmart, 2. Food Lion).

More than 19,000 Durham residents are employed at Duke. That's means about 15 percent of all Durham residents who have jobs work at Duke. Chances are that if you live in Durham, you either work at Duke yourself or you know many others who do.

It's hard to wrap your mind around some of the numbers in the analysis. The report says, for example, that Duke's total economic impact on Durham is $3.2 billion. That's the equivalent of the construction cost of 16 Southpoint Malls -- every year. The figure is derived from the total local expenditures by the university, its students and visitors during the 2004-2005 fiscal year, or about $1.6 billion. The figure is doubled because economists say that the dollars will be spent at least once more in the community.

And Duke's total impact is increasing. It was $1.9 billion in 1997, the report's first year, and grew to $2.6 billion in 2003.

We were also glad to hear President Richard Brodhead note that the relationship between Duke and Durham is about much more than money, and that he intends to continue to nurture and expand that partnership.

That's important, because some of Duke's impact on the community is impossible to quantify monetarily. Thousands of Duke students volunteer at public schools and non-profits. Duke has opened health clinics in poor neighborhoods and continues to subsidize care for uninsured residents through Lincoln Community Health Center. Residents visit Duke's museums and galleries and attend concerts and performances. The university's role as an anchor tenant at American Tobacco was a key element in that project. The list could go on and on.

As in any relationship, there are areas where disagreement is inevitable and communication essential. Duke must be sensitive to community needs and concerns as it plans for a redeveloped Central Campus, for example. And residents will be very interested, to put it mildly, in the recommendations of committees now at work in the aftermath of the lacrosse scandal.

But despite occasional disputes, the report's bottom line is one we already knew: Durham is very fortunate to have Duke as a partner.

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