March 14, 2003

Fund-Raising Record Set by Southern Cal

By AUDREY WILLIAMS JUNE

The University of Southern California has raised $2.85-billion, a new record for a higher-education campaign. The fund-raising effort lasted for more than nine years.

"A billion-dollar goal was almost unthinkable in the early 1990s," said Steven B. Sample, the university's president. "To have almost tripled that number is a feat few universities could have hoped to accomplish."

The university edged past the previous record, set by Columbia University, which raised $2.84-billion