Released on: October 1, 2008, 10:26 am

Press Release Author: UC San Diego

Industry: Non Profit

Press Release Summary: With nearly 27,000 faculty, staff, healthcare and student
workers, UC San Diego — and the companies started by its faculty and alumni — is
having a powerful impact on the economies of San Diego, California, and beyond.


Press Release Body: The University of California, San Diego contributes more than
$7.2 billion in direct and indirect spending and personal income each year to the
California economy and generates 39,000 jobs, according to an independent economic
analysis released today.
Companies started by UC San Diego faculty and alumni create an even more powerful
impact. The total statewide economic contribution from UC San Diego start-up
companies is more than $37 billion annually and nearly 130,000 jobs. In San Diego
County, these start-ups add approximately $32 billion in direct and indirect
spending and personal income to the economy. These companies create nearly 115,000
jobs, the report found.
“UC San Diego changes the lives of San Diegans and Californians every day, through
job creation, advanced patient care, disease and drug therapies, service in the
local community, and world-renowned research and education,” said UC San Diego
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. “This report demonstrates in hard numbers the powerful
benefits created by our campus—billions of dollars injected into the economy and
tens of thousands of jobs created. When combined with our leading-edge research and
education, this latest analysis clearly shows UC San Diego’s local impact, national
influence and global reach.”
In San Diego County alone, the university’s annual contribution to the economy is
$5.7 billion in direct and indirect spending and personal income; UC San Diego
generates more than 33,600 jobs locally.
The study was conducted by CBRE Consulting, Inc. of San Francisco, which examined UC
San Diego’s academic programs, alumni, faculty, research, employment, spending,
students
and visitors for fiscal year 2006-07 to create an overall picture of the
university’s economic impact.
“This report confirms UC San Diego plays a vital role in boosting our local economy,
expanding our skilled workforce and driving the technological future of San Diego,”
said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. “UC San Diego is an outstanding feature of our
community’s economic landscape.”
An Economic Engine
UC San Diego, the third largest employer in San Diego County, pays more than $1.1
billion in salaries and wages to nearly 27,000 faculty, staff, healthcare and
student workers. In total salaries and wages, purchasing of goods and services, and
construction, UC San Diego spent nearly $2.5 billion in FY 2006-07, of which $1.7
billion was spent in San Diego County. Every $1 in direct UC San Diego spending
generates an additional 92 cents in indirect spending in the county, according to
the study.
“I’ve been an employee of UC San Diego for 16 years and my sister has been with the
Medical Center for nearly 30 years,” said Carol Hobson, an alumnus and assistant
director of Regional Development for the university. “I know first-hand the type of
impact, economic and otherwise, that the university can have. The benefits and
personal growth opportunities have been tremendous.”
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, the world’s oldest and largest
center for ocean and earth science research, graduate training and public service,
currently operates over 300 research programs in 65 countries on every continent, in
every ocean worldwide. Sponsored research spending for fiscal year 2006-07 was $102
million.
The Ripple Effect
UC San Diego’s robust economic impact isn’t limited to its spending on research,
dedication to students, purchasing and payroll. Faculty and alumni of UC San Diego
have started 67 currently active companies in California that generate more than $10
billion in annual sales, of which $8.8 billion comes from Qualcomm, Inc., founded in
San Diego by former UC San Diego professor Irwin Jacobs.
“UC San Diego has a very positive impact on local businesses. Our region’s
diversified, highly technological economy owes much of its success to the influence
of this advanced 21st century research institution in our midst,” said Bob Akins, UC
San Diego alumnus and co-founder of San Diego-based Cymer, Inc., the world’s leading
supplier of excimer light sources. “The highly skilled graduates of UC San Diego are
one of the university’s most significant contributions to the economy.”
Benefits Beyond Dollars
UC San Diego’s impact can be measured in more than dollars. In health sciences, UC
San Diego researchers and graduates have developed advancements in patient care,
breakthrough cures, and training and education.
UC San Diego Medical Center admits more than 21,000 inpatients and serves 476,000
outpatients per year. But it’s the quality of care that distinguishes the
university.
“The caring and professionalism of the doctors and nurses at UC San Diego Medical
Center surpassed my family’s expectations when they treated my newborn son in the
neonatal intensive care unit,” said Solana Beach resident Alexis Conerty. “The
combination of advanced medical technology and personalized care has touched our
lives. Thanks to UC San Diego, my little one is a healthy, active toddler.”

# # #

About UC San Diego
Founded in 1960, the University of California, San Diego is ranked the 7th best
public university in the nation by U.S. News and World Report and has been named the
“hottest” institution to study science by Newsweek. UC San Diego is one of the
nation’s most accomplished research universities, widely acknowledged for its local
impact, national influence and global reach. Renowned for its collaborative, diverse
and cross-disciplinary ethos that transcends traditional boundaries in science, arts
and the humanities, the university attracts stellar faculty, students and staff.
Learn more at www.ucsd.edu.

For more information and to access the UC San Diego Economic Impact Report, visit:
ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/EconomicImpact.



Web Site: http://www.ucsd.edu

Contact Details: MEDIA CONTACTS: Jim Gogek, 858-822-3736, jgogek@ucsd.edu
Rex Graham, 858-534-5952, ragraham@ucsd.edu