Machen describes UF's impact on Florida

In a presentation to UF's Board of Trustees during its strategic discussion before its meeting, UF President Bernie Machen said if UF were a corporation, it would be the 16th largest corporation in the Florida.

With a budget of ,4.377 billion, UF is even larger than Outback Steakhouse.

Machen said UF's Bureau of Economic and Business Research estimated that UF has more than a ,6 million impact on Florida's economy. Correction 9/25: ,6 billion.

"The Legislature is increasingly aware and recognizes that," he said.

Shands at UF provides about 25,000 jobs, which is almost a quarter of the total job market in this part of Florida, he said.

"We are an economic engine in the truest sense," Machen said.