Community and Economic Impact Report Released

A new report highlights the University’s qualitative and quantitative contributions to the community, including service, cultural enrichment and economic impact.
The 2024 Community and Economic Impact Report highlights The University of Scranton’s numerous substantial contributions to the community, which includes an annual Volunteer and Service Fair through which local non-profit community partners come to campus to recruit volunteers for their programs.
The 2024 Community and Economic Impact Report highlights The University of Scranton’s numerous substantial contributions to the community, which includes an annual Volunteer and Service Fair through which local non-profit community partners come to campus to recruit volunteers for their programs.

Student volunteers, free performances and lectures, academic engagement through community-based learning courses and partnerships, in addition to the economic impact of expenditures and building construction, are among the numerous qualitative and quantitative ways in which The University of Scranton makes a positive economic and community impact on the City of Scranton and Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The 2024 Community and Economic Impact Report, produced by the University’s Office of Community Relations, highlights the University’s substantial contributions to the community through many initiatives and outcomes, from service, community engagement and cultural enrichment to a multitude of community partnerships and the impact of the University’s economic engine.

“Within this report, we see the good works of students, faculty and staff together with community partners in a shared effort to improve this place that we all call home,” said University President Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J.

Commitment to the Community

Inspired by the words of St. Oscar Romero, members of the University community “Aspire not to have more, but to be more.”

Key among the contributions are the ways in which the University collaborates with the community in pursuit of the common good.

Community-Based Learning

The Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) supports faculty teaching academic courses and running academic programs that involve students working with individuals, groups or organizations in ways structured to meet community-defined needs.

In 2023-2024, 87 community-based learning classes were conducted. In total, 2,362 students engaged in community-based learning, through these classes or in activities related to their academic program, for a total of 31,373 hours. This includes 2,129 students from the Leahy College of Health Sciences, which requires 80 service hours for graduation.

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Student Volunteer Programs

In 2023-2024, University students provided tens of thousands of hours of service, much of it in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including 94 student clubs, as of 2024, required to complete three community service activities per year.

The University’s Center for Service and Social Justice works regularly with more than 120 Scranton area non-profit organizations to engage students in addressing community needs through special programs including: spring and fall break service trips; food, clothing, holiday gift and blood drives; mentoring and summer camp programs for area youth and other special events for area children. Program highlights include The We Care Program, first begun in 2020 during the pandemic, involves preparing and packaging 50-100 meals weekly for community members in need.

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The Edward R. Leahy Jr. Center Clinic for the Uninsured

In the spring of 2024, in a groundbreaking initiative, teams from The University of Scranton and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) joined forces to reimagine and revitalize the Leahy Clinic for the Uninsured medical clinic.

Since reopening, the Leahy Clinic provided care to 202 patients across 474 visits in the spring of 2024 alone, demonstrating the critical need for its service and the pivotal role in the region’s healthcare safety net. Specialized services include the Physical Therapy Clinic, Counseling and Behavioral Health Clinic and Low-Vision Occupational Therapy Clinic. Each of these clinics is run by University faculty and students.

An Economic Engine

According to a study conducted by the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development in 2024 based on data from the 2022-2023 academic year, The University of Scranton's overall economic impact on Northeastern Pennsylvania totals $ 277,019,748. The University of Scranton's direct expenditures in goods and services were $162,853,514, and its total value added of indirect and induced impact was $114,166,233. In addition, operations and spending generated over $21.3 million in federal taxes and over $7.1 million in state and local taxes.

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The following are key highlights of the University’s economic impact on the community.

  • The University invested $7.1 million dollars in campus construction projects in 2022-2023 and paid $107,381 in construction related permits and fees. The total economic impact of construction totaled $11.4 million and tax impact of construction amounted to $1.2 million.
  • As part of the University’s economic impact, student spending impact amounted to an estimated $1.9 million and visitor spending impact amounted to $214,432.
  • The University awarded $103 million in institutional student aid in the form of scholarships and grants in 2023-2024.The University of Scranton is the seventh-largest employer in Lackawanna County, according to a 2024 report by Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry. Through the University’s direct employment and its indirect and induced impact, 2,860 jobs are supported in the region in a variety of sectors.
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In addition, the report highlights many other ways the University engages locally, such as cultural events offered free to the public; activities to engage K-12 youth; a periodic Living Wage study that highlights the region’s socio-economic status; programs that support small businesses; projects in solidarity with local refugee and immigrant populations; a prison education program that recently graduated its second cohort; and the Scranton Stories oral histories initiative that shares the stories of 33 local residents.

Looking ahead, President Father Marina said, “I look forward to the ways in which the University and Scranton will continue to work together, with the help of God’s grace, to help our community flourish.”

The full 2024 Community and Economic Impact Report can be seen online.

For additional information, contact the Office of Community Relations at 570-941-4419.

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