The University of California, San Diego -- one of the youngest universities in the nation to launch a $1 billion comprehensive fund-raising campaign -- announced today that it has raised a total of $757.7 million in gifts contributed by over 77,000 alumni, parents and friends of the university for The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next. UCSD expects to achieve the remaining $242.3 million before the seven-year campaign concludes in June 2007.

A record $147.3 million in private support was received during the 2004-2005 fiscal year, which continues the university's momentum toward its $1 billion fund-raising goal. The university reports that this has been the most successful year in private support in the history of the campus. UCSD's fiscal year begins on July 1 and concludes on June 30.

"Extraordinary things are happening in classrooms and laboratories across the UCSD campus, and this progress is a direct result of the generous gifts from thousands of individuals, families, foundations and corporations," said Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of the University of California, San Diego. "Today we are more than seventy-five percent toward our campaign goal, but there is still much work to be done. I am confident that UCSD will meet the challenge for the future, as we invite supporters to help us imagine the next exciting era for our university."

Top-ranked UCSD, which has gained a reputation as an entrepreneurial and innovative educational institution, is using campaign dollars to transform the campus through a new phase of growth and evolution.

Campaign gifts have already funded a variety of needs ranging from scholarships to help the best and brightest students attend UCSD, to nearly 30 endowed chairs established to support and retain outstanding faculty in specialized and interdisciplinary areas of study throughout the university. Contributions to UCSD's multi-year fund-raising initiative have also enabled the university to establish two new professional schools -- pharmacy and management -- as well as fund a long list of research and health initiatives.

The Campaign for UCSD reports that 50 percent of the donors to date are friends of the university, 28 percent are alumni and 15 percent are parents. Corporations, foundations and organizations represent the remaining seven percent of the donors.

Major campaign milestones achieved by UCSD in 2004-2005 include:

A $30 million gift from The Skaggs Institute for Research to support groundbreaking academic and research efforts at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences;

A total of $30 million for the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center initiative, including a commitment of $10 million from Richard and Maria (Gaby) Sulpizio, to fund a state-of-the-art facility for UCSD's patient care and clinical research activities in heart and vascular disease and stroke management;

The Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) gift of $4 million to the Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management to promote global entrepreneurship, employee ownership, and economic development through consulting, training and international projects;

A $4 million gift from Donald and Darlene Shiley to support UCSD's renowned Alzheimer's disease research at the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center;

A gift of $4.8 million from the Rik and Flo Henrikson Trust to be added to the other bequests from their trust, which has created UCSD's single largest unrestricted endowment totaling over $14.9 million. The income from this endowment helps fund the university's greatest needs and important emerging opportunities, such as student scholarships and fellowships;

A grant of $1.4 million awarded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography that supports the use of innovative technologies in a long-term study of the California Current ecosystem. In addition, the Foundation also provided a gift of $1.76 million to the UCSD Supercomputer Center to develop a next-generation database system for tracking changes in marine and lake environments;

An anonymous gift of $1 million to the Department of Ophthalmology given for faculty recruitment and retention -- a top priority of the campaign. This donation allows the department to hire two scientists to work in the area of glaucoma research.

With higher education's share of state revenue declining each year, the University of California, San Diego must increasingly rely on financial support from private sources. Gifts made by alumni and friends play an important role in keeping the university at the forefront of academic and research excellence. For more information, call 858-534-1610 or visit campaign.ucsd.edu.

About The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next:

Since its founding nearly 50 years ago, the University of California, San Diego has rapidly achieved the status as one of the top institutions in the nation for higher education and research. In order to keep UCSD at the forefront of academic and research excellence, the university launched The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next in July 2000. Donations to the comprehensive $1 billion fund-raising campaign will help support students and faculty, expand academic programs, fund research endeavors and strengthen innovation funds to meet the highest priority needs. The Campaign for UCSD has generated over $757 million to date, but there is nearly $243 million to raise before the campaign concludes in June 2007. For more information, please visit www.campaign.ucsd.edu.