FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Council for Aid to Education, a national research organization that promotes policy reform in higher education, ranked the University of Arkansas among the top four universities in the nation for private gift support in 2003 - just behind Harvard, Stanford and University of Pennsylvania.

The data was compiled through CAE’s annual survey, "Voluntary Support of Education," the results of which were released and reported on in the March 11 Chronicle of Higher Education online. The survey encompasses the 2003 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2002, until June 30, 2003.

The University of Arkansas recorded $365.3 million in private gift support for FY03, the university’s best fund-raising year ever. The total includes actual dollars or gifts-in-kind received by the University of Arkansas and the Razorback Foundation, the organization that supports men’s athletics. It also includes the historic $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, received in March 2003, entirely in cash. It excludes any pledges of gifts made during that time.

UA Chancellor John A. White, said: "The 2003 fiscal year was an extraordinary one for the University of Arkansas and we are in extraordinary company. Harvard consistently leads the nation in attracting private gift support. That Arkansas’ flagship university ranks competitively among institutions capable of raising nine-figure sums annually speaks volumes regarding the commitment of our friends and supporters to move this university into the upper ranks of American universities. The University of Arkansas strives to be among the best in the nation. Private gift support is the critical complement to public funding that will make it possible."

G. David Gearhart, vice chancellor for University Advancement, said: "We’re grateful for the continued private gift support of our alumni and friends. We are very pleased with our fund-raising success and plan to keep awareness of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century high, as the effort is not yet over. We’ve seen how private gift support can make a real and immediate impact on our students, faculty and programs. And we’re confident our continued success will be due in large part to our stellar group of volunteer leaders, our devoted deans and their fund-raising leadership, a hard-working staff and supportive faculty and the allure of raising funds for a worthy and noble cause - the excellence of the University of Arkansas across the board."

The top 20 institutions based on total giving for FY03 according to the Voluntary Support of Education Survey are:

1. Harvard ($555.6 million)
2. Stanford ($486 million)
3. University of Pennsylvania ($399.6 million)
4. University of Arkansas ($365.3 million)
5. Johns Hopkins University ($319.5 million)
6. UCLA ($319.4 million)
7. Cornell University ($317 million)
8. University of Washington, Seattle ($311.2 million)
9. University of Texas, Austin ($309.4 million)
10. University of Southern California ($305.9 million)
11. Duke University ($296.8 million)
12. University of Wisconsin, Madison ($286.9 million)
13. Columbia University ($281.4 million)
14. University of Virginia ($261.9 million)
15. Indiana University ($249.9 million)
16. University of Minnesota ($244.8 million)
17. Princeton University ($227.5 million)
18. University of California, San Francisco ($225.5 million)
19. Yale University ($222 million)
20. New York University ($207.9 million)

CAE analyzes trends in private giving to colleges and universities, makes projections about future giving and breaks down whether gifts to institutions were made by corporations, foundations or individuals.

CAE is a national nonprofit organization based in New York City. A part of the RAND Corporation since 1996, CAE was initially established in 1952 to advance corporate support of education. Presently, CAE is also focused on improving higher education quality and access.