So far, donors have given UC Davis $61.4 million in 2003-04, bringing the campus within striking distance of the $71.7 million it raised from private sources between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003. Also, compared to this point last year, the number of alumni, friends, corporations and foundations who have made gifts has jumped by more than 1,000 to 46,500 donors.

In April, donors added $3.4 million in new gifts and pledges. These gifts include:

• A $250,000 commitment from Joan R. Pinon and Lewis E. Platt to help support the Board of Visitors and Fellows Winery Fund in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences;
• A bequest of nearly $105,000 from the estate of Marjorie Elliott for scholarship and fellowship support;
• A gift of $100,000 from the Harriet E. Pfleger Foundation for the "Equine Viral Disease Research Initiative" in the School of Veterinary Medicine's Center for Equine Health;
• A pledge of $100,000 from the Rumsey Community Fund for the Fit Kid Program in the Department of Pediatrics;
• A grant of $81,000 from the California Academy of Family Physicians for the Family Practice Liability Project in the Department of Family and Community Medicine; and
• $80,000 from the American Chemical Society for research into the applications of hydrogen bonding in the Department of Chemistry.

Glenn Nedwin, president of Novozymes Biotech, Inc. in Davis -- which recently donated $500,000 to endow a chair in genomics -- summed up the feelings of many of this year's donors.

"The quality of life in this region, the state and the nation is incredibly enriched by UC Davis," he said. "Many of my own employees, for example, are UC Davis graduates, and my company and I are proud to provide it with philanthropic support."