For the fourth consecutive year, UC Davis has set a record for private gifts and grants in a 12-month period. From July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000, the campus received $72.2 million in private support, an increase of $8.6 million (14 percent) over the $63.6 million it raised from individuals and organizations in 1998-99.
UC Davis is one of seven UC campuses reporting new benchmarks for private support in a year that saw the entire UC system receive more than $1.2 billion in gifts and private grants.
Philanthropy plays an increasingly important role in helping UC Davis meet its academic and institutional goals, said UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef.
"We are most grateful for this growing level of generosity," Vanderhoef said. "These contributions strengthen the university and provide critical margin of excellence for a range of educational initiatives, from facilities projects such as the performing arts center to new scholarships for students and research funds for faculty."
Of the $72.2 million given to UC Davis, $36.9 million (51 percent) supported faculty research. That was $6.9 million more than the campus received for research in 1998-99. Another $8.3 million was given for student aid and instruction, while campus departments received $14.8 million.
UC Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert Grey attributed the increase in private support for research to the continuing hard work and quality of the faculty.
"UC Davis faculty compete against scientists and scholars from universities throughout the world for private support of their research, and the fact that they do so well testifies to the very high caliber of their projects, their track record and their industry. The research partnership between the public and the private sector pays tremendous dividends in new knowledge, medical and technological breakthroughs and enhanced classroom teaching," Grey said.
Other factors contributing to UC Davis' new record included an all-time high in private support for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the addition of five endowed faculty chairs and a strong year for planned and deferred gifts.
The $18.5 million the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences received was the most private support in college history, bettering 1999's total by more than $7.3 million (65 percent). The college's previous record for private support had been set in 1993.
Dean Neal Van Alfen gave credit to donor understanding of the college's needs and priorities.
"This is a positive reflection on our outstanding faculty and staff, and a strong indication that we are headed in the right direction. Our donors contributed to our areas of greatest need, which continue to be support for facilities, graduate students, endowed chairs and undergraduate students," Van Alfen said.
Elsewhere on campus, private support for the Division of Biological Sciences jumped 153 percent to $3.5 million in fiscal year 2000, while the College of Letters and Science enjoyed a 67 percent increase in grants and gifts to $3.8 million.
The School of Veterinary Medicine, which is conducting its 50th anniversary campaign, received the second highest total in contributions to UC Davis, $15 million or 21 percent of the campus total. The School of Medicine and the UC Davis Medical Center raised $14.1 million, the third largest total among campus units and a 3 percent increase over its 1998-99 mark.
Two universitywide campaigns generated significant gift income for the year, as well. The campaign to build an environmental research and education center at Lake Tahoe gained $1.7 million during the year, reaching $7.9 million toward a $12 million construction and endowment goal.
The campaign to build and partially endow the Center for the Arts, meanwhile, attracted $2.5 million in new gifts and pledges, bringing its campaign total to just over $12 million. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2002, the performing arts center features an 800-seat main hall and a state-of-the-art studio theater, nearby parking, and access from Interstate 80.
Other ongoing campaigns, including the School of Veterinary Medicine's Diary Campaign, the campaign for the M.I.N.D. Institute at the UC Davis Medical Center, and the Seed Biotechnology Center in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, all reported progress toward their goals.
Donors funded five new endowed chairs, bringing the UC Davis total to 53. These permanent faculty funds include a $1.5 million commitment for the Richard A. and Nora Eccles Harrison Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research, a $1 million fund for the Robert A. and Carla Henry Endowed Chair in Emergency Medical and Critical Care in veterinary medicine, the Homer G. and Ann Berryhill Angelo Endowed Professorship in law, and two endowments for chairs in the Department of Viticulture and Enology-the Marvin Sands Endowed Chair and the Louis P. Martini Endowed Chair.
The campus also reported that $8.8 million came in the form of planned gifts, such as bequests, charitable trusts, annuities, life estate plans and pooled income funds. The largest single gift to campus in fiscal year 2000, in fact, was a $2.8 million bequest from the estate of Mariam Stelling, which is supporting the Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics.
UC Davis has placed renewed emphasis on this form of giving, and more than a dozen new planned gift agreements were concluded over the year.
Cash and gifts of securities, real property and gifts-in-kind accounted for $56.9 million (79 percent) of the year-end total. The remaining $15.3 million were planned gifts and other pledges.
Campuswide, corporations contributed $28 million, or 39 percent of the year's total in private support. Foundations and other organizations gave $10.7 million (15 percent).
The total value of gifts from individuals climbed 53 percent to $18.4 million, with more than 10,000 alumni contributing to campus through the UC Davis annual fund.