The previous record was between $100,000 and $105,000, said Ron Rogers, an associate professor in the Moore School of Business and chair of USC’s 2004 campaign. The 2003 campaign raised almost $100,000.

“We exceeded last year by 50 percent,” Rogers said. “So, it’s a big improvement over anything we’ve done in the past.”

Participation in the 2004 campaign was up about 50 percent, too. In this campaign, 610 donors, or about 14 percent or USC faculty and staff, made contributions, compared to 361, or about 7 percent, in the previous campaign.

Rogers attributed this year’s successful campaign to the University’s United Way Ambassadors.

“We asked a person in each unit on campus to serve as the United Way Ambassador,” he said. “The ambassadors stayed in touch with the people in their units and gave them information about the United Way.

“The campaign was a lot more hands-on that it’s been in the past. In the past, we just mailed out pledge cards and asked people to mail them in. I think a lot of the improvement is because of the efforts of the ambassadors, who are USC employees who believe in the United Way.”

5/05