Brain drain not severe in Tennessee

BYLINE: Angie Herrington, Staff Writer

The first in a series of reports on how many Tennessee college graduates leave to work elsewhere finds the Volunteer State is not experiencing a severe "brain drain."

The study, done at the request of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, also found that graduates of Tennessee public colleges earn higher salaries than other people working in the state.

"I think this study is generally encouraging," said Dr. Bill Fox, director of the University of Tennessee's Center for Business and Economic Research. "A fair number (of college graduates) do leave, but most stay in Tennessee."

The study looked at 207,600 people who received college degrees between 1997 and 2005 from public colleges in the state. Data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development was used to find how many graduates worked for employers who are part of the state's unemployment insurance system.

The report found that within two years after graduation about 63 percent of Tennessee's higher education graduates are working in-state for these employers. Also, some 5 percent to 6 percent of graduates remain in Tennessee to work on advanced degrees, the report found.

The percentage of Tennessee college graduates working in the state declines to about 56 percent within seven years after graduation, according to the report.

The graduates examined in the study earned an average salary of $38,927 in 2005. That is 16 percent more than the average salary of $32,565 for everyone else working in the state.

For Dr. Mike Leazer, a pharmacist at CVS in Hixson, family was the main reason he decided to work in Tennessee after completing his education.

Dr. Leazer, 43, said he earned an associate's degree in pre-pharmacy from Chattanooga State Technical Community College in 1999. He then went to pharmacy school in Atlanta at Mercer University, where he earned his doctorate in 2004.

"I knew I wanted to come back here," Dr. Leazer said. "I'm a military brat, so I traveled all my life growing up, but my roots are deep here."

David Wright, THEC associate executive director of policy, planning and research, said future reports examining the graduates of Tennessee's colleges that work in the state will provide more detail on the characteristics of the group.

Trends in majors, the institution attended and types of employers will be looked at, he said.

The reports will be useful not only in policy discussions with lawmakers, but colleges can use the information as a marketing tool to tell students about the outcomes of their graduates, Mr. Wright said.

He said the report is evidence that "education pays" in Tennessee.

"It's basically a story about a return on an investment that the state makes in its colleges and universities ... and a return on investment to the individual in terms of wages earned for higher levels of degree attainment," Mr. Wright said.

E-mail Angie Herrington at aherrington@timesfreepress.com