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Community Impact

Community Impact Guidelines

Read the AAU-APLU Economic Impact Guidelines.

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Research universities support a broad array of public service and outreach activities. Through their research and service, faculty and students at AAU institutions are continually improving their local communities, our country, and the world. Research universities help to: improve education, enhance public health and safety, advance the arts and humanities, protect the environment, bolster crop yields and food production, promote economic growth, and improve our overall quality of life. AAU seeks to strengthen the many ways in which research universities serve society. 

Economic Impact of AAU Universities

AAU universities create jobs, produce innovative technologies, and boost local economies. AAU paid $100.4 billion in salaries to 794,947 employees, produced 5,583 patents, and fostered the creation of 676 start-ups. 38 AAU universities are in the top 50 for producing venture capital-backed entrepreneurs, and 453 start-up companies were generated in the university's home state.

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Hoping for a Quieter City, Residents Look to Brown Research Lab to Analyze Noise Pollution in Providence

Hoping for a Quieter City, Residents Look to Brown Research Lab to Analyze Noise Pollution in Providence

By reporting noise levels across the city, Brown's Community Noise Lab is aiding local community members who are working to build awareness, action on the public health consequences of excessive noise pollution.
citrus

Scientists at UF use AI to try to more accurately predict citrus yield

University of Florida researchers are using artificial intelligence to help citrus growers better forecast their seasonal production. So far, they’ve found in a preliminary study that their technology predicts yields with 98% accuracy.
Sign at Roth Pond

Gobler Lab Joins the Battle Against Algal Blooms

A Stony Brook University expert is joining the battle against Algal Blooms
California’s Central Valley as seen from space

Scientists Map “Pulse” of Groundwater Flow Through California’s Central Valley

UC San Diego scientists are using remote sensing to create detailed maps of groundwater resources in the San Joaquin Valley and to determine when and where groundwater in the region is being recharged.

Explore More: Stories of Community Impact

You can filter stories by university.

Georgia Tech Helps Rebuild Former Pimiento Capital of the World

Woodbury, Georgia, the former pimiento capital of the world, is building a new economic foundation — with a little help from Georgia Tech.
Georgia Institute of Technology | Community Impact

Hoping for a Quieter City, Residents Look to Brown Research Lab to Analyze Noise Pollution in Providence

By reporting noise levels across the city, Brown's Community Noise Lab is aiding local community members who are working to build awareness, action on the public health consequences of excessive noise pollution.
Brown University | Community Impact | University Research

In partnership with Providence’s Building Futures, Brown jump-starts careers in construction

Over 15 years, more than 320 apprentices from Building Futures have trained at dozens of construction sites on Brown’s campus — providing them with the training they need to secure stable, well-paying careers.
Brown University | Community Impact

Brown med school students elevate health care for Rhode Island’s underserved and underinsured

At Providence’s Clínica Esperanza and the Rhode Island Free Clinic, student volunteers from the Warren Alpert Medical School work tirelessly to improve not only health care but the health care system.
Brown University | Community Impact

A Summer of Discontent in Long Island’s Coastal Waters

Scientists at Stony Brook University have completed their assessment of water quality in Long Island’s estuaries in 2021 and the news is not good. During the months of June through October, every major bay and estuary across Long Island was afflicted by toxic algae blooms and oxygen-starved, dead zones. Excessive delivery of nitrogen from onsite wastewater has been cited as the cause of these disturbing events. The news was announced on October 7 at the Patchogue waterfront by Christopher J. Gobler, Ph.D., Endowed Chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University.
Stony Brook University - The State University of New York | Community Impact | University Research