America’s College Towns Are Facing an Economic Reckoning
Communities that rely on student spending and higher education jobs are struggling with fiscal woes and Covid-19 fears as the school year begins.
Students walk through the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Aug. 18. The school halted in-person classes and reverted back to online courses after several Covid-19 outbreaks.
Photographer: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Curtis Shulman is the director of operations for Hotel State College, a hospitality company that runs a group of six bar-restaurants in State College, Pennsylvania. Home to Penn State’s University Park campus, the town depends heavily on the 45,000-student campus, largest of Penn State’s 24 outposts.
“We make 20% of our revenue just from football weekends,” said Shulman. “About 60% of the remaining revenue we make during the school year.”