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UM
kicks off Excellence drive
UM's
economic impact on the Missoula community has jumped by
$14.4 million over last year, according to a study by the
University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. The
study was commissioned for the UM Foundation's Excellence
Fund Drive.
Results
of the BBER survey were presented at the official kickoff
of this year's Excellence Fund Missoula Business and Campus
Drive on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The
economic study is done each year so Excellence Fund volunteers
can demonstrate the University's importance to the community.
With UM injecting $233.7 million into the local economy
last year, drive chair Paul Sepp said, "The impact
on the community is a major selling point for 100 volunteers
from the business, professional and University community
as they ask associates to say 'Count Me In' with a gift
in support of UM academic programs."
Funding
priorities this year include scholarships, faculty and staff
development, student pre-professional opportunities, expanding
library and computer services, outreach and more.
The
drive will continue through Thursday, Oct. 17, when volunteers
celebrate what is expected to be the 24th consecutive year
of attaining their fund-raising goal. Sepp and his steering
committee hope to raise $300,000 for UM this year.
Sepp
said, "Missoulians are very generous to the University
and seem to recognize it is in their best interest to keep
The University of Montana thriving and growing. An economically
healthy UM means an economically healthy Missoula."
Steve
Seninger, BBER's director of economic analysis, attributes
UM's increasingly positive economic impact to a continued
trend of more visitors coming to the Missoula campus, especially
to attend athletic and cultural events, as well as increased
local purchases by the University itself. Seninger's figures
separate expenditures into industry categories.
Among
the highest categories are mortgages and rents, food purchases,
vehicles and their operating expenses, department stores
and recreation facilities.
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