A preliminary report released in May by Anderson Economic Group found that Michigan’s University Research Corridor (URC), an alliance of Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University, makes significant contributions to the state’s economy.

 

In its report, AEG found that the URC spent $6.5 billion on operations in fiscal year 2006. This figure—$6.5 billion–is about 2% of all economic activity in Michigan, as measured by Michigan’s gross state product. Most operational spending went towards teaching, research, and University of Michigan’s Hospital.

 

Furthermore, AEG estimated that currently over 617,000 alumni of a URC institution live in Michigan. There is at least one URC alumni living in every Michigan county. URC alumni living in Michigan earned an estimated $24.3 billion in 2006, making up 13% of all wage and salary income in Michigan.

 

The AEG report also compared how research and tech transfer activities at Michigan’s URC compare with other well-known university clusters in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Peer university clusters include Harvard, MIT, and Tufts in Massachusetts; Duke, University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State in North Carolina; and Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, and University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.