Lindenwood touts economic impact, plans Collinsville site

    BELLEVILLE — Lindenwood University-Belleville says it’s had a nearly $1 billion impact in the surrounding community the past four years, and with plans to expand to Collinsville, it will add to that number.
    The school recently conducted an economic and social impact study to explore the effect of its students, employees, facilities and services. That study found an impact of more than $328 million in the last year alone, said Dr. Jerry Bladdick, president of Lindenwood Belleville.
    One of the areas examined was variable outlays, which includes expenditures on items such as personnel, utilities, insurance and plant operation. Of the 138 full- and part-time employees at Lindenwood Belleville, 75 jobs were added from 2011-2014, with the average salary for faculty and staff totaling nearly $60,000.
    Another 16 full-time faculty and staff positions will be added beginning this month, July. The total economic impact of Lindenwood’s variable outlays for the same four-year period totals $539,341,000.
    During the same time frame, the university has also invested $223,258,402 in capital outlays — or expenditures in construction, renovation, buildings, infrastructure and furnishings.  
    Lindenwood had a student body of nearly 2,000 in the 2013-14 academic year. The impact of its  spending is estimated at $220,992,120.
    “With the expected expansion of the campus’ physical plant, new degrees and athletic programs, as well as the rising student population that is expected to grow by one third in the next few years, I anticipate the university’s economic impact to eventually reach half a billion dollars per year,” Bladdick said.
    Dr. Dan Frazier, professor of business at Lindenwood Belleville, led the economic impact study.
    Lindenwood University-Belleville is scheduled to open in Collinsville, its first extension site, in the fall of 2014.
    The campus will sign a five-year lease on 15,000 square feet of space located at 1101 Eastport Plaza Drive in Collinsville to use for evening graduate classes in education and professional counseling.
    “This decision was made to better accommodate our growing evening student enrollment and increasing number of degree programs,” said Jerry Bladdick, president of the Belleville campus. For the past couple of years, every classroom on campus has been occupied by our evening classes, and the demand for more course offerings continues to rise.”
    Cindy Manjounes, associate dean of academics at Lindenwood Belleville, said with the addition of several new degrees and areas of emphasis each year, classroom space at Lindenwood Belleville is at a premium during the evening.
    “The new Collinsville location will be the first extension center for the Belleville campus that continues to model itself after the very successful Lindenwood St. Charles campus, which boasts 11 Missouri locations, as well as online degrees,” Manjounes said.
    The state-of-the-art facility will house seven classrooms, including a science lab, along with a student computer lab, a lounge area, and faculty/staff office space.