These reports can help them secure grants, justify public services, raise funds or improve public opinion. If a company wants to build a new facility, for example, knowing the economic value of jobs and tax revenue the facility will produce may help them secure building permits or tax incentives.

“If you have a vision and you want to estimate what type of splash something is going to have, whether it’s building a new factory site or it’s a new gaming center, a report like this can help,” Lambert said.

As a faculty member for the College of Business’s Equine Business Program, Lambert has prepared reports on the horse racing industry, the impact of parimutuel wagering, historical horse racing machines and the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs for many years. Taxes on wagering help fund UofL’s Equine Business Program, the equine program at University of Kentucky and other organizations that support Kentucky’s horse industry.

“If you’re showing that the spending and attendance at the tracks are generating enough revenue, then you’re justifying the attention that the equine industry gets because it is one of the signature industries here in Kentucky,” Lambert said.

Lambert’s reports, such as the he recently prepared for Humana Inc., go beyond examining payroll and the business’s spending to document additional jobs, tax revenue, supplier earnings and spending, philanthropy and more.

Laurie Young, director of industry partnerships for the UofL Office of Research and Innovation, has tapped into Lambert’s expertise, connecting him with Humana and other organizations such as Anthem, the metals industry consortium MI2 and the Kentucky Derby Festival (KDF) to provide economic impact reports for those groups.

Lambert’s ability to ferret out less obvious areas of impact adds value to his reports. For example, Humana’s report included the value of volunteer hours and tuition reimbursement spent at local colleges and universities. For KDF, Lambert is calculating money spent by visitors at restaurants and hotels.

With these additional calculations, Lambert’s reports reveal the ripple effects of payroll and spending through the local economy, known as multipliers.

“When a company pays their employees, those employees turn around and spend that money at restaurants and pay their mortgage or rent. So, these other enterprises receive a share of that pay. Then they’re going to turn around and pay their employees, their suppliers, etcetera,” Lambert said.

Understanding this downstream impact can magnify the understanding of the organization’s value substantially.

To calculate these multipliers, Lambert uses the computer modeling program IMPLAN, which is provided to UofL with state funding. Using it in this way returns benefit to the state by helping Kentucky businesses grow and attract talent to the commonwealth.

Facilitating economic impact reports is just one way with UofL for research and other services, from business to engineering and beyond.

“I go out and listen to what the companies need and then I collaborate on campus. We’re trying to grow industry work across campus and highlight all that UofL has to offer businesses,” Young said.

One collaboration can lead to another. In preparing the economic impact study for KDF, it occurred to Young the group also may benefit from marketing consultation, leading to a project by Henrietta Pepper’s marketing class. The students’ presentation impressed KDF, as well as their consulting firm.

“We’re trying to change companies’ perception of UofL,” Young said. “In addition to providing talent, we can do so much more for our community.”

Though Medals4Mettle (M4M) is an international organization, the UofL School of Medicine M4M program is unique in that the students have the opportunity to meet with their buddies prior to the race and personally present their medals to them after running. This year, 87 medical students will participate. On the Thursday prior to Derby each year, the Kentucky Cancer Program at UofL hosts a Cancer Survivors Celebration at the Kosair Charities Clinical & Translational Research Building. After the celebration, survivors walk to Broadway together to attend the annual Pegasus Parade. from last year’s event, including comments from UofL President James Ramsey.

This year, UofL basketball players Damion Lee and Trey Lewis, both graduate transfers who played for the Cardinals this season, will serve as honorary grand marshals for the annual Pegasus Parade, which marches down Broadway on May 5 beginning at 5 p.m. The parade in past has included UofL-affiliated grand marshals such as coach Rick Pitino, the 2013 Men’s and Women’s basketball teams, and NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, a former UofL quarterback.

Also this year, the 2016 Kentucky Derby Queen, , is a junior at UofL majoring in Business Finance. She is joined on the Royal Court by another UofL student: Stephanie Dooper, a senior majoring in Political Science and Liberal Studies.

UofL even houses those who protect the revelers during the week’s events. Julie Weber, director of campus housing, said about 50 Kentucky State Police officers will stay in Unitas Hall during the long weekend. In the past, members of the National Guard have also used campus accommodations. New this year, about 20 employees from NBC Sports will be staying at the Arch Apartments, one of UofL’s affiliates. “They were just trying to find something close and affordable for their large crew who are working 16 to 17 hours a day,” she said. “For state agencies or other service-type organizations, we’re happy to do it. It’s not a big money maker for us, we’re just doing our part to support the Derby.”

Other Derby ties

Some other Derby-esque traditions at UofL include a Derby Lecture Series hosted by the Chemistry Graduate Student Association. This year’s lecture features Alan Heeger, a Nobel Prize winner in 2000, presenting two lectures – one scientifically technical lecture May 9, and one geared toward a general audience on May 10.

The Department of ����ֱ��al Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development will host a Derby Party May 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Mary Bingham Room in the University Club. It includes a contest for best hat and Derby attire.

Finally, it wouldn’t be the Derby without a party, and Cardinal alums from San Francisco to Philadelphia take care of that. A complete list of UofL Alumni chapters hosting Derby parties is .