Well, then, that would reduce economic activity in the region. On that basis, the University estimates the impact would be $900 million annually. That’s figured by counting staff salaries, student expenditures, capital improvements, and the multiplier effect of each.
But of course this is a phony argument, intended to maintain the flows of tax dollars to the state’s “higher education” system. Let’s just suppose that all government funding of the University stopped. Quite possibly it could remain in operation, as lots of nongovernment schools do. But suppose otherwise. Tomorrow morning we wake up and find that Northern Illinois University is going out of business. And, just to keep the exercise meaningful, suppose none of the other Illinois government schools are able to pick up the slack; maybe they went out of business too, or maybe they just won’t expand.
So now there’s a big campus for sale. Would a nongovernment school want to buy it? Or maybe one or more other organizations, such as a mental hospital, retirement community, corporate think-tank, drug rehabilitation center, penal facility, religious group, will want to buy the space? The campus won’t remain empty. It will be re-used or redeveloped, and that will involve an unknown (but positive) number of jobs and investments.
What about the students? It seems the economic return on college credentials is decreasing, but surely it has some value for some people. There are lots of colleges, public and private, looking for students. Some students will decide to put full-time formal education aside for a time, look for jobs or start businesses. And starting a business might be a good idea, with a labor force suddenly available.
And the faculty? Surely they’re employable, as consultants or teachers elsewhere, or doing something else. If they really can’t do anything but teach at a government school, what necessary skills do they lack?
Meanwhile, we also need to consider the benefit to taxpayers of no longer funding the University. How much would they save? Or, more likely, taxpayers would “save” nothing, but more funds would be available to cover other existing obligations, which does seem to result in some public benefit.
One more thing. This topic was raised by a link in an email I received, labeled “What’s a state university worth to the region in which it’s located?” That’s kind of meaningless; do we mean “to the people living in the region,” or “to the taxpayers of the region,” or “to the owners of land in the region,” or something else? And necessarily, the analysis needs to imagine what would happen in the absence of the university. Do there exist any examples of a significant state university shutting down? I know of none. Perhaps a test is needed. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that Cold Spring Shops hasn’t commented on this.