See College of Education Professor Ramin Farahmandpur’s column at Northwest Labor Press, “PSU deserves funding that works for Oregon’s workers.”
An excerpt:
Why should policymakers care? Each year, PSU contributes $1.8 billion to Oregon’s economy, supports more than 11,000 jobs, and generates $714 million in labor income, according to a 2024 study by the Northwest Economic Research Center. In contrast to the flagships, more than 80 percent of PSU graduates remain in Oregon, working in the public and private sectors that sustain local communities. Few universities have such a direct and lasting impact on the state’s workforce.
National research supports this. Studies show that regional public universities like PSU deliver the strongest return on investment for working families and local economies. Yet Oregon’s funding model rewards research dollars and residential capacity—criteria that privilege flagship universities and penalize access-driven campuses like PSU.