The fiscal year that ends June 30 will easily be the best fundraising year in the history of Oregon State University, smashing the previous record, said Mike Goodwin, chief executive of the OSU Foundation.

"We've raised about $122 million," and the total should climb to $127 million this month, Goodwin said.

The previous high was in the fiscal year ending July 2006, when $78.3 million in commitments was gathered for OSU.

The record year is due to the Campaign for OSU, the university's first comprehensive fundraising effort, which seeks to raise $625 million.The campaign has left OSU in a strong position despite the downturn in the national economy because key university fundraising initiatives have been courting major donors for years.

"Overall, we might see some decline nationally in giving to higher education for a couple of years," Goodwin said. Contributions to colleges and universities nationwide generally go up consistently and only dip slightly during recessions.

Even before the campaign was announced in October, it had accumulated $350 million during its "silent phase." Since it's gone public, the campaign has reached $430 million.

"We have had 73 gifts of $1 million or more," said Shawn Scoville, OSU Foundation senior vice president for development and campaign director. There also have been nearly 500 gifts of $100,000 or more and donations from 44,000 households.

About a third of the Campaign for OSU will be used for endowments. So far, more than 330 scholarships have been created through the campaign and more than 20 endowed professorships.