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Revision with unchanged content. In recent years, increasing market competitiveness and rising educational costs have underscored the importance of external revenues in higher education finance in the United States. Even as the higher education costs continue to exceed the rate of inflation, public funding from both state and federal sources is steadily declining. As traditional funding sources become less reliable, American colleges and universities seek to pursue alternative revenues such as private donations. Using panel data of public colleges and universities from 1994-2003, this study investigated how institutional characteristics and environmental factors influence overall private giving and its varying sources to public colleges and universities. It addressed two major research questions: Which institutional, state policy and governance, and socioeconomic factors are most closely associated with the generation of private giving to public postsecon dary institutions? How do these factors differently influence private giving from four sources- alumni/ae, non-alumni/ae individuals, corpo rations, and foundations?

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is a research analyst in the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She holds a Ph.D in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University, and a M.ED in College Student Affairs from University of South Florida.

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