COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri boosts the state's economic output by 25 percent, according to a report commissioned by a school advocacy group released as lawmakers consider the university's appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year's budget.
The study released April 4 by The Missouri 100 also said that each dollar of state support means $38.43 in economic activity over the next 25 years, the Columbia Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/1S7rYVd) reported Tuesday.
State representatives have proposed cutting $8.6 million from the university's budget and halting any increases tied to performance, while state senators have proposed cutting $1 million and giving $26.8 million in support through performance-based increases.
Joseph Haslag, a professor of economics and director of the MU Economic & Policy Analysis Research Center and co-author of the report, said the study was intended to estimate the long-term impact on the state's economy if the university didn't exist, not to measure the economic impact of small increases or cuts in the state's support.
The university's interim president, Mike Middleton, said the report is an argument against cuts, even though it doesn't address the impact of smaller changes.
"The logic is, why would you do anything to hurt an entity that has such a significant impact?" Middleton said.
University system spokesman John Fougere said the report will lay out the arguments used to present the university as a benefit to the state and worthy of tax investment.