According to the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges (AVIC), www.vermont-icolleges.org, higher education is the 4th largest economic sector in Vermont.   AVIC estimates that its 17 member colleges generate $400 million annually for the Vermont economy, http://www.vermont-icolleges.org/stories/storyReader$9.  This estimate does not include the substantial economic contribution of the University of Vermont and the Vermont State College system, which are not independent colleges and so are not AVIC member colleges.  And AVIC estimates that spending by students and their families and friends contributes an additional $70 mllion to the Vermont economy each year, http://www.vermont-icolleges.org/stories/storyReader$9.  With about 3,500 employees, the University of Vermont is one of the largest employers the state.  Considering all of the colleges and universities in Vermont, the higher education sector is a dominating force in the state's economy and workforce.

Our firm's law practice reflects the importance of higher education in Vermont and nationally.    A large percentage of our work in areas such as employment matters, transactions, real estate, immigration and nonprofit tax exempt planning is devoted to college and university clients in Vermont and elsewhere in the region and the nation.   

So any discussion of the vibrancy of Vermont's economy must consider the role of higher education.   In this blog I have  focused on the entrepreneurial economy as a primary driver of economic success, particularly in the green economy that we are trying to develop in Vermont.  But the so-called Green Valley economic effort in Vermont is tied directly to our colleges and universities.  Vermont Law School long has been a leader in environmental law.  The University of Vermont is a leader in environmental education and science.   This month the Sierra Club named Middlebury College and the University of Vermont as the #1 and #3 "green" colleges, respectively, http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200809/coolschools/ten/.  Alumni of Vermont colleges and universities are responsible for a great portion of the entrepreneurial economy and the green sector of Vermont's economy.

Higher education may be a nonprofit sector but the State of Vermont profits greatly from it.