VCU Commons Photo by Jeff Auth via Wikimedia Commons
Virginia Commonwealth University has a wide-ranging economic and cultural impact on the region, generates nearly $6 billion in economic activity and supporting 63,000 jobs in the State.
A new report, titled “VCU’s Impact on the Region: Talent, Innovation, Collaboration,” says the economic impact within the city of Richmond is $1.5 billion, including about 18,000 jobs.
According to University Public Affairs, the VCU’s impact in the metropolitan area is $4 billion and 47,000 jobs. Each dollar VCU spends, including payroll, employee spending and student spending, expands the Richmond economy by $2, the regional economy by $3.70 and the state’s economy by $3.20, according to the report.
Among other findings, the report says the top-ranked VCU Health System is a nearly $3 billion enterprise, with more than 11,000 employees, and each year there are 36,000 admissions, nearly 100,000 emergency department visits and more than 650,000 outpatient visits. VCU Medical Center is the region’s safety-net hospital and its only academic medical center.
The report has been produced by the VCU’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis.
Here are some of the details contained in an account of the report’s findings as released by the University Public Affairs.
John Accordino, Ph.D., who is the center’s director and the interim dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, said the numbers tell just part of the story of VCU’s impact.
Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU and VCU Health, says the report’s findings will help VCU address some of the complex issues faced by the community.
“We learned a lot from this report about what VCU has been, and what we should become,” Rao said. “Our focus will be the people behind these numbers — the people of Richmond — and how we can continue to use our expertise, talents and resources to help solve some of the most challenging issues our city faces, including K-12 education, health disparities, housing and others. We have already begun work on these complex issues, and this report is a call to action to forge ahead in helping achieve what’s difficult.”
Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney said the strong relationship between the city and the university is beneficial to both partners.
“The impact of VCU upon the city of Richmond cannot be overstated,” Stoney said. “Its artistic, cultural, academic and economic contributions through its university and health system have helped make us the destination city we are today, and will play a huge role in our future success going forward.”
