<p>barrons,
The U Michigan increase is nice and it is important to fill in some of the financial vacuum caused by the decline in state funding. But the stock market is up over tenfold since the early 80s. Going from about a billion then to 6 now is not that groundbreaking. I would say that U Wisconsin has more than matched that record. And I think you are correct about the fundraising history of publics vs privates. The universities seemed to have caught on, but I’m not sure that the public at large understands the importance of their donations (over and above their tax contributions). If publics want to stay competitive with the top privates in the quality and the quantity of the services that they provide, I think we agree that this will be an increasingly important issue in the years ahead.</p>