Private participation is the critical difference for a public university.
Private support provides an increasingly vital margin of distinction, creativity and higher quality performance. It creates endowments, which produce income in perpetuity for undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, faculty chairs and professorships, and other enhancements beyond those provided by limited state funds. As one reviews the history of the university, the names of individual and family donors stand out. Some of these names grace campus landmarks, endowed chairs, scholarships or programs of excellence. These serve as benchmarks of the commitment of alumni and friends to academic excellence, and the university seeks to recognize more donors in this way.