CHAPEL HILL - UNC-Chapel Hill's fundraising efforts brought in $300.3 million in gifts in fiscal year 2008, breaking the $300 million mark for the first time.

The total marks the fifth straight record-setting year for this type of support, which accounts for money that is immediately available to the university. UNC-CH raised $250.8 million in gifts in fiscal year 2007.

"This has been another tremendous year at Carolina," said Matt Kupec, UNC-CH's vice chancellor for University Advancement. "Our alumni and friends are sustaining the incredible momentum created by the Carolina First Campaign."

Highlights in 2008 included Wilmington's Fred Eshelman committing $10 million to the School of Pharmacy to close out the university's Carolina First Campaign. That drive ended Dec. 31, after $2.38 billion was raised to support UNC's vision to be the nation's leading public university.

Major support for undergraduate students in 2008 included a $6 million gift from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust to help increase the number of students invited to the College of Arts and Sciences' Honors Program.

The gift, which adds faculty to teach honors courses, qualifies for a $3 million grant from the N.C. Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust, bringing the total value of the gift to $9 million.