For Beatrice Salcido, a scholarship is making the difference between attending UC San Diego . or no university at all. Assistant biology professor Gentry Patrick counts on the generosity of donors to support critical research required before applying for major federal grants. Private funding supports the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, which just celebrated the graduation of its charter class.

The impact of gifts to the University of California, San Diego is significant and far ranging. Thanks to the generosity of over 90,000 alumni, parents and friends, The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What's Next has to date raised nearly $915 million since the initiative was launched in July 2000. With a record $160.7 million in private support received during fiscal year 2005-06 alone - a nine percent increase over last year - UC San Diego is on track to achieve its $1 billion goal by the conclusion of the campaign in June 2007. UCSD's fiscal year begins on July 1 and concludes on June 30.

"When a community rallies around its university, the impact is felt well beyond the campus borders," said UCSD chancellor Marye Anne Fox. "I am focused on the months ahead - the last year of the campaign - because we have so many programs that still need private support. In particular, we still have critical funding needs for additional scholarships, fellowships and endowed faculty chairs so that we can continue to grow the stellar academic reputation of our campus."

Private support directly improves the quality of the university's academic and research programs, provides scholarships and fellowships that enable the best and brightest students to attend UCSD, enhances medical services and enriches the lives of the entire San Diego community.

Major campaign milestones achieved by UCSD during the last fiscal year included:

Support for Students

Allene Wong, '71, is helping high achieving students from Hawaii majoring in engineering or science to offset non-resident fees through a $260,000 endowed scholarship.

A $1 million gift from Jerri-Ann and Gary E. Jacobs, '79, to support fellowships in the Division of Social Sciences was the largest single gift ever made to the Division by an alumnus.

Support of Innovation:

The university's innovative environment was a magnet for entrepreneur Jerry Swartz, inventor of the hand-held barcode laser scanner. The Swartz Foundation committed an additional $6 million, for a total of $12 million, to support the Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience at UCSD.

A $24.5 million award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will allow the university to partner with UCSD alumnus J. Craig Venter, '72, Ph.D., '75 - a visionary genomic scientist - and his research institute to map the genes of the tiniest marine creatures.

Support for Research and Patient Services:

With its three floors of clinical services and five-story research tower, the impact of the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center was reflected in the over $1 million that was raised at the Celebrity Chef's Gala.

Donors provided $9 million for a much-needed expansion of both patient and faculty areas at the Shiley Eye Center and the Anne F. and Abraham Ratner Children's Eye Center.

Support for Faculty:

Faculty at UCSD are supported through more than 115 endowed chairs - of which nearly 40 were established since The Campaign for UCSD began.

UCSD "firsts" include the first $5 million endowed dean's chair, The Stanley and Pauline Foster Endowed Chair at the Rady School of Management, funded by a generous donation from philanthropist Pauline Foster; the first endowed faculty chair in the Department of Anthropology, the Norma Kershaw Endowed Chair in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands; and the first two of three chairs in Greek history - the Gerry and Jeannie Ranglas Chair in Ancient Greek History and the Alkiviadis Vassiliadis Chair in Byzantine Greek History.

Added donor Pauline Foster, "In our family, philanthropy means much more than writing a check - it's also trying to make a difference with our gifts."

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. For more information giving to UCSD, please call 858-534-1610, e-mail or visit the Web site.