Despite the flagging economy, private support for the University of California, Davis, reached an all-time high last year. Gifts to the campus totaled $38.7 million, an increase of nearly one-third over the year before, and included three gifts of more than $1 million each. UC Davis Provost Larry N. Vanderhoef called the 1992-93 results "a very welcome demonstration of renewed public confidence in the University of California. With the steady erosion of state funds these past few years, we've never depended so greatly on our donors and we deeply appreciate their generosity," he added. Gifts to the nine-campus University of California system also reached a record high of $472 million, almost 10 percent greater than the $430 million in private gifts the year before. The largest proportion of UC Davis gifts, 41 percent of the total or just over $16 million, went to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, a 107 percent increase over the year before. "This record total is an indication of the breadth as well as the depth of support for the college," said Executive Associate Dean Robert Fridley. "These gifts represent significant commitments made over time by alumni and friends as well as strong support of new programs." Medical sciences received about 15 percent of the total or nearly $6 million, most of which was designated for research projects in cancer, human nutrition and AIDS. Gifts to the College of Engineering accounted for 14 percent of the total, or $5.5 million, which represented an increase of 69 percent over the college's 1991-92 results. Planned gifts had significant impact on total giving, amounting to $1.5 million in bequests as well as almost $8 million in trusts. The university's largest single gift recorded last year was a $6.7 million charitable trust, established anonymously in 1975 to create a research endowment in animal husbandry and agronomy. Another anonymous donor gave $1 million to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to establish a center for the study of human population biology. As in past years, corporate giving to the campus made up a significant portion of private support. Corporate gifts were up 6 percent over last year, accounting for 40 percent of all gifts to UC Davis. The College of Engineering, for example, received more than $1 million from Intel Corp. for a supercomputer. M.S. Ghausi, engineering dean, called the Intel contribution "one of the most significant equipment gifts the college has ever received," and said, "it will vastly increase our computing capability and could lead to new discoveries in every department in the college." Last year the college also received workstations valued at $770,000 from Digital Equipment Corp., $504,000 in workstations and software from Hewlett-Packard, and $671,000 in furnace systems for a state-of-the-art "clean room" for integrated circuit research from MRL Industries. Another highlight in private giving was the establishment of several new endowed chairs and professorships. These funds are valuable because they provide ongoing support to attract and retain outstanding faculty at UC Davis. The California Cling Peach Advisory Board gave $325,000 to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to create one of UC Davis' first endowed professorships, the L.D. Davis Professorship in Pomology, in honor of the former professor. The School of Medicine established a chair in bioethics, among the first in the country, as well as a Board of Visitors Chair in honor of former dean Hibbard Williams. A gift from Warren and Leta Giedt created a professorship in mechanical, aeronautical and materials engineering in the College of Engineering. The School of Veterinary Medicine launched a $650,000 campaign to establish the John Hughes Endowed Chair for Equine Research. Other significant gifts included two parcels of land in University Research Park valued at $710,000 donated by George and Lena Valente, a gift of $620,000 from the Hubert H. Wakeham Trust for undergraduate and graduate student support, and $500,000 from Wendell Jacob to help the Department of Viticulture and Enology develop an experimental vineyard in Oakville. The College of Letters and Science reached its goal of $100,000 in a campaign to endow the UCD Symphony, and the campus's Institute of Governmental Affairs received $80,000 from GTE California to support a new program in telecommunications policy. Alumni and parents continued to provide strong support to the campus through the annual fund telephone campaign. Last year 12,400 pledges resulted in more than $1.4 million for the annual fund, providing much-needed unrestricted dollars to support priority programs across the campus. "As the 1993-94 year unfolds, private giving remains critical to ensuring the future excellence of UC Davis," said Virginia Kelsch, associate vice chancellor for university relations. "We are really proud of the growth in support because it demonstrates that our donors recognize the value of UC Davis' teaching, research and public service mission, and the important role they can play in ensuring academic quality."