Town/Gown Relations
Regional Economic Impact
With an overall workforce of approximately 11,388 (5,324
employees are benefits eligible), Princeton University is
the largest private employer in Mercer County and one of the
largest in central New Jersey.
The institution's overall regional economic impact
amounted to more than $1.4 billion for 1999 - 2000. This is
based on the University's total expenditures of
approximately $631 million, along with the expenditures of
an estimated 450,000 people attending events on campus and
the expenditures of the thousands of students and employees.
Included in these statistics is the $22-million economic
impact of the nationally acclaimed McCarter Theatre, whose
facility is owned by the University. McCarter programming
draws an estimated 200,000 visitors and 18,000 subscribers
per year.
The University tries to purchase goods and services in
New Jersey as much as possible. Approximately 95 percent of
the $80 to 95 million spent on construction in 1999 - 2000
went to New Jersey firms, as did $91.5 million spent on
purchases.
Serving as a major employment center, Princeton is the
source of nearly $8 million in New Jersey state income tax
revenue from those on the University payroll. In addition,
the University's intense economic activity creates
employment opportunities off campus at businesses and
industries whose economic health is linked to the
University.
Princeton University plays an important role in
attracting prestigious international corporations to central
New Jersey, particularly to the University-developed
Forrestal Center properties in Plainsboro and South
Brunswick. These lands feature premier office, retail, and
residential space as well as academic space, with an
approximate assessed valuation of $775 million in Plainsboro
and South Brunswick. The total Forrestal acreage in the two
towns amounts to 2,034 acres, 602 of which the University
has developed but no longer owns. Nearly one quarter or 463
acres of the original Forrestal land holdings has been
preserved by the University as permanent open space. The
Forrestal Center project has been cited nationwide as an
example of responsible land use planning and quality
development in New Jersey.
Since its inception 12 years ago, the University's Center
for Photonic and Optoelectronic Materials (POEM) has formed
research and development partnerships with 200 companies and
entrepreneurs in a wide array of fields, ranging from
aviation and environmental monitoring to medicine and
telecommunications. POEM has a special focus on companies
with fewer than 50 employees, and estimates that the
companies it has assisted have generated more than $750
million in expanded economic activity in the region during
the past decade.
According to Moody's Investor Service Municipal Credit
Research, the University's positive effect on the local
economy and the stability of its presence is the dominant
factor in the Triple A bond rating for Princeton Township
and the Princeton Regional School District and the Double A
bond rating for Princeton Borough.
Expenditures, 1999-2000
- Total expenditures: $631 million (with Princeton Plasma
Physics Lab)
- Capital expenditures: $100 million
- Total payroll (including student payroll): $355
million
- Construction spending: $80 to 95 million on five major
projects and 225 minor projects; over the past 10 years,
construction spending has amounted to over $500 million
Employment, 1999-2000
- Total number of employees on the payroll:
11,388
- Benefits eligible: 5,324
- Temporary (employed for a defined/specific
period of time or project): 1,354
- Students and casual: 4,710
- N.J. State income taxes paid by University
employees: $7.99 million
Visitors, 1999-2000
- Estimated total: 450,000 (this number accounts
for duplication, i.e., many visitors attend more than one of
the listed activities that follow)
- McCarter Theatre: 200,000
- Athletic events: 150,000
- Concerts at Richardson and other auditoriums on
campus: 100,000
- Art Museum: 70,000
- Orange Key tours: 31,400
- Conferences (non-alumni-related): 30,000,
including 4,000 youngsters in summer camps and 5,000
participants in summer academic programs
- Alumni-related events: 17,000
- Firestone Library: 8,219
- Cotsen Children's Collection: 2,556
- Special passes: 6,600
- Commencement: 8,000 to 10,000
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL):
4,200
Community Contributions 1999-2000
Property tax payments: The University owns
approximately 4,000 acres for commercial and academic use in
seven central New Jersey municipalities, with significant
holdings in Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, West
Windsor Township, Plainsboro Township, and South Brunswick
Township as well as minor holdings in Hopewell Township and
Bedminster Township. Most of the academic properties are
located in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, which
host the University's main campus.
- The 1999 - 2000 property and sewer taxes in the
above-mentioned communities amounted to approximately $6.7
million.
- The University is the largest taxpayer in both
Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, paying $5 million
to these two communities.
- In Princeton Township, the University pays $2.4
million in property and sewer taxes ($2.1 million in
property taxes; $340,000 in sewer).
- In Princeton Borough, the University pays $2.6
million in property and sewer taxes ($1.6 million in
property taxes; nearly $1 million in sewer).
Voluntary property tax payments on University housing.
The total tax payment in both the borough and the
township include hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes
on housing for faculty, staff, and graduate students. This
is housing that might qualify for tax-exemption under New
Jersey state law. Taxes are paid on these residential
properties, voluntarily, in order to ensure that the public
school system is compensated for any school-age children who
may dwell in University-owned housing.
Property tax payments on certain athletic facilities.
The University pays an estimated $400,000 in property
taxes on certain athletic facilities, including the
Princeton University Stadium.
Removing buildings from the tax rolls. The
University's policy is to remove a building from the tax
rolls only when 100 percent of the building is used for
academic purposes. This is a voluntary gesture, because
state law exempts colleges and universities from paying
taxes on any portion of a building used for academic
purposes. When a University property is removed from the tax
rolls (a 100-percent academic building), the University,
instead of abruptly stopping all tax payments, phases out or
draws down the tax payments over a 10-year period. This
procedure is also voluntary.
Payments for infrastructure improvements. The
University annually spends approximately $275,000 for
maintaining 8.5 miles of University-owned but publicly used
roadways. In addition, the University pays the $11,000
electric bill for lighting Prospect Avenue. During the past
decade the University has spent $2.1 million on crosswalk
and road improvement projects on both its own roads and
public roads, including Washington Road and Prospect
Avenue.
Fee payments. In addition to taxes, the University
pays $1.5 million to both state and local governments for
permits, inspections, etc.
Voluntary contribution to municipality. The
University makes an annual voluntary contribution to
Princeton Borough. For 1999 - 2000, this contribution was
more than $150,000, which consisted of $100,000 as a general
donation, plus $51,900 made on behalf of the
University-owned McCarter Theatre property. Both of these
contributions escalate each year by the same percentage as
the municipal portion of the tax rate. This contribution is
in addition to the cash contribution of hundreds of
thousands of dollars the University makes to each
municipality when the University voluntarily leaves
certain properties on the tax rolls.
Affordable housing contributions. The University
pays both Princeton Borough and Princeton Township a
contractual contribution earmarked for affordable housing.
The total amount of these contributions is $50,000. At the
end of the 20th century, the University's contributions to
affordable housing through both cash and land gifts amounted
to an estimated $1.2 million.
Service support and special gifts from 1995 through
the year 2000. The University has contributed a
significant number of gifts to the municipalities and many
other community organizations, including:
- $300,000 to Princeton Borough for park
redevelopment at the municipal complex on Monument
Drive.
- $282,000 to Princeton Township for infrastructure/sewer
projects.
- $270,000 to the Medical Center at Princeton for its
capital campaign.
- $100,000 to the Medical Center at Princeton for its
operating budget (this is a $20,000 annual gift).
- $250,000 to the Princeton Public Library for its
library expansion project.
- $200,000 to assorted area charities in grants and
memberships (the University donates approximately $50,000
per year).
- $165,000 for emergency services, including fire and
first aid (the University gives $33,000 per year).
- $100,000 (estimated) to the United Way. This represents
the University's institutional 10 to 15 percent match of
employee contributions; the most recent United Way campaign
yielded a University match of $20,196.
- $100,000 to the Arts Council of Princeton for its new
building project.
- $100,000 to Princeton Township for open space
preservation.
- $30,000 to Princeton Community Housing for the
expansion of its Elm Court project.
- $50,000 to the Princeton YWCA for its capital
campaign.
- $30,000 to the "Curtain Calls" Millennium New Year's
Eve celebration.
- $7.7 million, a cash and in-kind donation, to McCarter
Theatre. The University leases the building on University
Place to McCarter Theatre at no cost to the theatre
and charges nothing for the maintenance of the facility.
This gift is worth an estimated $700,000 per year. In
addition, the University has made a commitment of $7 million
toward the addition to McCarter Theatre. This commitment
includes the $3.5 million from an individual donor who
earmarked his donation to the University for the new
addition to McCarter.
- $2 million, in-kind donations to various community
nonprofit groups, excluding McCarter and the Medical Center
at Princeton. For example, the University established and
still provides free Internet access and server use to the
Princeton public schools, library, senior citizen
facilities, and municipal facilities. In addition, the
University donates annually space and services to dozens of
organizations (such as the Spirit of Princeton July 4th for
the fireworks and the Medical Center Auxiliary for the Fete,
both held on University athletic fields). A significant
in-kind contribution is made to Princeton High School
students, who under certain circumstances are allowed to
enroll in University classes at no cost; at current tuition
costs for 40 to 45 youngsters, this gift is worth an
estimated $125,000 annually.
Service/Outreach
Student Volunteers Council (SVC). Through the SVC,
more than 2,000 University undergraduates participate each
year in 60 student-led community service programs, assisting
thousands of residents in the Trenton/Princeton area. Each
week, approximately 600 students volunteer on a regular
basis in programs serving different populations: youth,
senior citizen, mentally handicapped, physically
handicapped, and homeless. Several students volunteer as
emergency medical technicians, and, in that role, they
provide an essential service to the entire population of
Princeton. SVC also helps facilitate summer community
service intern programs for University students.
Community House. Community House is a student
volunteer service organization that is made up of a diverse
group of students who are primarily, although not
exclusively, interested in rendering service to minority
communities. The student volunteers work in the Princeton
Borough and Princeton Township area on projects that include
mentoring for teens, tutoring, support programs for
immigrant populations, and school readiness for preschool
children. Community House also organizes one-time projects,
such as Campus Volunteer Day, which, with the cosponsorship
of the Office of Community and State Affairs, brings
students together with faculty and staff to volunteer on
one-time projects in the local community. In addition to its
outreach activities, Community House serves as a forum for
intellectual and social exchange and support for its staff
and volunteers.
Graduate students. In addition to the
undergraduate student volunteer efforts, graduate students
from the Woodrow Wilson School and other departments make up
tutoring and mentor programs throughout the
Trenton/Princeton area. For example, the graduate students
living in the graduate housing next to an affordable housing
complex in Princeton tutor youngsters living in that housing
complex.
Princeton-Blairstown Center. Known as Blairstown,
the Princeton-Blairstown Center provides a camp program each
summer for hundreds of inner-city youth from New Jersey,
Philadelphia, and New York City. Founded in 1908, the center
helps disadvantaged youth build self-confidence while they
participate in a challenging outdoor experience.
Office of Community and State Affairs. The office
acts as the coordinator of faculty and staff community
service initiatives. Working in collaboration with area
organizations serving needy populations, as well as with
other University departments and organizations, the Office
of Community and State Affairs each year arranges food and
clothing drives, a community service fair, volunteer work
days, a school supplies drive, holiday gift baskets, surplus
equipment donations, and a year-end furniture recycling
project. The office attempts to facilitate and support the
efforts of hundreds of faculty and staff who donate
thousands of hours of their time to speak, teach, and mentor
in the community as well as serve on governmental and
charitable boards and commissions.
Office of Teacher Preparation. Besides training
University students to be K - 12 teachers, the program
supports and provides recognition for local school teachers.
It sponsors distinguished teaching awards for New Jersey
teachers. Project QUEST is a two-week summer institute in
science for elementary school instructors, with follow-up
sessions held during the academic year. Teachers as Scholars
is a partnership between the University and the surrounding
school districts that provides three-to-four-day scholarly
seminars for teachers. In addition, the Office of Teacher
Preparation manages the high school student
academic/enrichment program that allows students who have
completed their course work and have received permission
from their respective high schools to take courses free of
charge in foreign languages, computer science, mathematics,
and music.
Harold W. McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning.
The McGraw Center serves as home to the Learn-by-Teaching
initiative, a program that trains Princeton students to
develop and teach lessons in local K - 12 classrooms
(particularly in the area of science).
Public lectures, continuing education, auditing
program. Throughout the academic year, hundreds of
lectures and other educational programs on a wide variety of
topics are held on campus and are open to the public,
usually free-of-charge. Through the Program in Continuing
Education, University staff and area residents may formally
enroll in courses for a fee based on current tuition costs.
Although courses that are completed do not lead to a degree
from the University, students do receive grades and
Princeton transcripts. A special program for New Jersey
elementary and secondary school teachers allows them to
enroll formally in University courses at a substantially
reduced fee. Members of the community also may register for
the University's Community Auditing Program, allowing them
to attend lectures and pay only a small processing fee. The
University's Office of Community and State Affairs
administers the Continuing Education and Auditing Programs
for the non-University community.
Office of Computing and Information Technology
(CIT). This office provides free Internet access to
Princeton schools, municipal offices, the public library,
and the Senior Resource Center.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). As a
service to the Trenton public schools, PPPL provides
materials and equipment and gives lectures, demonstrations,
special tours, assistance with an annual science fair, and
teacher-enhancement workshops. Each winter the laboratory
hosts an eight-week "Science on Saturday" series at no
charge for local high school students and teachers. It also
provides in-service programs for educators, summer workshops
for middle school teachers, and many research opportunities
for high school teachers.
Princeton Materials Institute (PMI). The faculty
of PMI, in collaboration with local school districts, the
E=mc2 enrichment program and the Invention Factory Science
Center in Trenton, work with area teachers to support and
enhance innovative, inquiry-based science curricula in local
school districts. It hosts a summer outreach program for
high school students participating in the New Jersey
Environmentors program and offers full-time summer research
opportunities for area science teachers.
The Art Museum. The Princeton Art Museum attracted
more than 70,000 last year for a variety of programs for
adults and children. The Museum staff and volunteers reached
out to area schools, hospitals, and retirement homes with a
variety of community service programs, events, and tours
funded by the Art Museum, the Friends of the Art Museum, or
the Docent Association.
Department of Athletics. Athletics provides free
admission to athletic events to local youth groups and other
community-based organizations that normally do not attend
University programs. Teams volunteer at a center for abused
children in Trenton, and the department is heavily involved
in educational outreach, including an essay contest and a
special summer reading program, "Reading With the Tigers."
In exchange for reading ten books, over 1,000 area children
receive free admission to select athletic programs.
Community Based Learning Initiative (CBLI). The
CBLI is a group of students, faculty, administrators, and
community experts working to provide students with
opportunities for community involvement and hands-on
research in the classroom. Community-based learning enriches
coursework by encouraging students to apply the knowledge
and analytic tools gained in the classroom to the pressing
issues that affect the local communities.
Host of town events. Each year the University
reaches out to residents throughout the region by hosting
special educational, cultural, and athletic events such as
Communiversity, the International Festival, the June Fete,
Curtain Calls, the Martin Luther King Day Celebration,
Community Day at the Princeton Stadium, athletic programs
and tournaments, the Princeton Chamber Symphony's Youth
Concert, the Princeton High School Holiday Concert, and the
eighth-grade promotion ceremony.
Tours and information. Student representatives of
the Orange Key Guide Service offer tours of the historic
main campus seven days a week throughout the year
(foreign-language tours are also available). Tours of the
Engineering Quadrangle, or E-Quad, are conducted by the
School of Engineering and Applied Science weekdays during
the academic year and by appointment in the summer. The
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) also offers tours
by special arrangement. The Daily Princetonian, a
student newspaper published weekdays when the University is
in session, is a good source of events information. The
Princeton Weekly Bulletin, published by the Office of
Communications for the University community, features a
weekly events calendar and a list of campus employment
opportunities. Also, the calendar, employment opportunities,
virtual campus tour, and a wide range of up-to-date
information about the University is available on the Web at
www.princeton.edu.
Facilities
The University's Office of Community and State Affairs
facilitates use of University facilities by community
charitable and governmental organizations.
- 185 Nassau Street houses the Programs in
Creative Writing, Theater and Dance, and Visual Arts, which
host art shows, theatrical productions, and poetry and
fiction readings.
- The Art Museum offers a variety of programs for
adults and children, both at the museum and in area schools,
hospitals, and retirement homes. The Docent Association
gives guided tours for groups of six or more adults. It also
gives tours for children by appointment. There is no tour
charge for school groups. The museum is free and open to the
public, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., except Mondays and
holidays.
- Princeton athletic events are open to the
public, some at no charge. Season tickets provide access to
football, ice hockey, and basketball at a reduced per-game
charge. Athletic facilities are often available to residents
of the community. A single fee provides access to Dillon
Gymnasium basketball and squash courts; the Dillon Gymnasium
fitness center; both DeNunzio and Dillon pools; the Jadwin
Gymnasium track; and Baker Rink. Use of indoor and outdoor
tennis courts requires a fee.
- Carnegie Lake, which is owned by Princeton
University and serves as its intercollegiate rowing
facility, is a popular community recreational area,
providing a site for rowing, fishing, canoeing, and ice
skating.
- The Princeton University Chapel, which seats
nearly 2,000 people, offers services, musical performances,
and other special events that are open to the public.
- Firestone Library offers access privileges to
the public for modest fees. Special accommodation regarding
the fees is made in cases of financial need. The public is
welcome, without charge, to the Cotsen Children's Library,
at the main entrance to Firestone. Open seven days a week,
the Cotsen features a permanent interactive exhibit on
children's literature and provides outreach activities,
storytelling, tours, and conferences throughout the year.
Also open to the public are the exhibition gallery on the
first-floor and the second-floor gallery. The Rare Book Room
and the Theater Arts Collection may be seen by signing in at
the door.
- FitzRandolph Observatory sponsors open houses
with evening viewing through the 36-inch reflecting
telescope. The Princeton Weekly Bulletin lists the dates,
which vary from year to year depending on astronomical
conditions.
- McCarter Theatre offers drama, music, dance,
film, and other events ranging from acrobatics to mime. The
theater also hosts the annual show presented by student
members of the Triangle Club.
- The Natural History Museum is closed for one
year during the renovation of Guyot Hall. The contents of
the museum will be relocated to a new space in order to
integrate the resources more effectively with the
University's teaching program.
- Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall hosts
musical, dramatic, and other performances, most of them open
to the public and most for a fee.
- Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall hosts campus
musical groups throughout the year, which are sponsored by
the Friends of Princeton Music.
- A student-run facility, Theatre Intime,
schedules dramatic productions throughout the year at
Murray-Dodge Hall.
- The Music Department sponsors free student
concerts, Music-at-Noon, during the academic year in the
Woolworth Center.
- The University's Center for Visitor and
Conference Services coordinates visits to campus by outside
organizations for meetings, workshops, and educational
institutes as well as sports camps and other athletic
activities, each year hosting over 10,000 visitors to
campus.
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