SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — An independent study by a consulting firm from Pennsylvania shows South Dakota’s public universities generated $2.1 billion in the state’s economy in 2019. 

The full 41-page report can be viewed in the document below. 

The study was commissioned by the South Dakota Board of Regents to “to quantify the impact of all six public higher education institutions in its system.” The BOR said the study is one way to explain the importance of supporting higher education. 

The study, which points out the university system supports 12,354 jobs and generates $74.1 million in state and local taxes, says “the numbers drive the message, not the other way around.” 

There are more than 104,000 alumni of a S.D. public university living and working in South Dakota.

This report comes after BOR released a 68-page report on the findings from the Legislature-mandated Senate Bill 55 task force.

SB 55 was passed in the 2020 legislative session and seeks to examine the operations and functions of the public university system by reviewing enrollment numbers, program offerings, core missions, among other cost-cutting measures.