This was a big news day for higher education in Erie. Mercyhurst College announced the receipt of $150,000 in state aid for its nursing program at its North East campus. Down in Edinboro, EUP leadership rolled out a $115 million comprehensive plan to build new student housing and a dining hall. When you look at the kind of money that gets thrown around by our institutions of learning, you get a better understanding of the importance these organizations have on our local economy.

Let me say upfront that I’m an ardent admirer of the academy. I was fortunate to spend four years as a student and five years as a professional adviser/adjunct at Gannon University. I like the whole context of expanding a young person’s mind, challenging them to find answers to new questions, the older imparting wisdom and lessons learned to the younger, the whole “beret wearing and pontificating” deal (JK). Our area colleges and universities are incubators of idealism and forward-thinking; there’s just a higher-density of smart people hanging around.

Our community has greatly benefited both directly and indirectly by the strength of Gannon, Mercyhurst, Penn State-Behrend, Edinboro, and LECOM. Those who lead our educational institutions are also board members of our organizations, researchers and advisors to government officials, and of course, taxpayers of an upper-income who, in regards to Gannon and Mercyhurst faculty and staff, are more likely to live in the city enjoying the classic housing stock in the Glenwood and Frontier neighborhoods.

Then of course we must consider the students. Close to 20,000 of them are enrolled, equivalent to 7% of our metro population (that would be quite a voting block!). Each one student could represent as much as $30,000 of direct impact into our economy, just for tuition and fees. When you add the trips to Wal-Mart, Wegmans, and multiple other establishments, you are talking many, many millions invested in our community. Indeed, these kids are customers that we want to keep happy!

With the city’s financial predicament causing tension between City Hall and Old Main, there needs to be mutual understanding toward shared goals. For example, it seems reasonable to me to have student housing taxed at normal rates, at minimum, upperclassmen’s apartments, since they have the option to live off-campus. The city should acknowledge the great lengths the colleges have gone to increasing security in their neighborhoods, greatly benefiting those areas.

Finally, I think we should continue to lean on our learned professors and administrators to help provide answers to our regions’ problems. Use their great data collecting and processing capabilities to conduct research and project outcomes. Encourage them in their health and growth. As they educate our young brains, we must work on plugging up the “drain.”