INSTITUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PRIVATE GIVING TO PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS By Ying Liu Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Leadership and Policy Studies May, 2007 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor Michael McLendon Professor Will Doyle Professor Karen E. Campbell Professor James C. Hearn Copyright © 2007 by Ying Liu All Rights Reserved ii To my parents, Shimo Liu and Dafang Xiong, Who always love and support me. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe Dr. James C. Hearn, my academic advisor and mentor, my deepest gratitude for his patience, time, advice and constant encouragement throughout my Ph.D. study. It has been a great honor for me to work with Dr. Hearn, a phenomenal scholar with high caliber and noble character. I am especially appreciative of Dr. Hearn for always treating me with great respect and having confidence in me when I doubted myself. I am also indebted to my committee chair, Dr. Michael K. McLendon and other committee members--Dr. William Doyle and Dr. Karen E. Campbell--for their intelligent insights and fresh perspectives on my dissertation. This endeavor would not be successful without their generous guidance. Special recognition and acknowledgment is given to my parents, Shimo Liu and Dafang Xiong, whose enduring love and support provided the impetus for the completion of the degree. They brought me into this world with great courage and perseverance, and instilled in me important values in life: integrity, frugality, fortitude, and empathy toward others. Warm feelings of appreciation go to all my friends for the joy of their loving friendships, without which my academic life would be much tougher. Sachi Amatya, Xiu Chen Cravens, and Mani Hull deserve mention for their wisdom, assistance, and reassurance. These extraordinary women have inspired me tremendously in different ways within academe and beyond. I especially thank Sachi for her sage counsel and eternal optimism, and her companionship along the way has been a big blessing to me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1 Recent Changes in the Financing of Public Higher Education................................2 The Importance of Voluntary Support in Public Higher Education ........................5 Recent Trends of Voluntary Support to Public Higher Education ..........................7 Statement of the Problem.......................................................................................10 Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................10 Research Questions................................................................................................11 Significance of Study.............................................................................................11 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.............................................................................14 Research on Private Donation to Nonprofit Organizations ...................................14 Determinants of Private Donation at the Donor Level ..................................15 Determinants of Private Donation at the Organization Level........................16 Research Related to Private Giving to Higher Education......................................21 Literature on Alumni Giving .........................................................................25 Studies on Total Private Giving from Different Sources...............................23 III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................33 Donors’ Motivation to Give to Higher Education .................................................33 Institutional Characteristics that Influence Private Giving to Higher Education ..35 Institutional Capacity.....................................................................................35 Fund-raising History ......................................................................................37 Fund-raising Effort.........................................................................................37 Environmental Factors that Influence Private Giving to Higher Education..........38 State Policy and Governance Factors ............................................................38 Socioeconomic Factors ..................................................................................41 v IV. RESEARCH METHODS .........................................................................................44 Variables ................................................................................................................45 Dependent Variables......................................................................................45 Independent Variables ...................................................................................46 Data Sources ..........................................................................................................50 Sample....................................................................................................................51 Definition of Term .................................................................................................51 Methods..................................................................................................................53 Limitations .............................................................................................................57 V. FINDINGS.................................................................................................................59 Results for Total Private Giving Model.................................................................61 Results for Four Submodels of Private Giving from Different Sources................63 Alumni/ae Giving...........................................................................................63 Nonalumni/ae Individual Giving ...................................................................65 Corporate Giving ...........................................................................................66 Summary of Results...............................................................................................68 Results for Private Giving by Carnegie Classification ..........................................70 VI. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ..............................................................................................73 Summary of the Study ...........................................................................................73 Discussion..............................................................................................................75 Institutional Capacity.....................................................................................75 Fund-raising History ......................................................................................76 Fund-raising Effort.........................................................................................77 State Governance and Policy Factors ............................................................78 Socioeconomic Factors ..................................................................................79 Implications............................................................................................................80 Theoretical Implications ................................................................................80 Practical Implications.....................................................................................81 Directions for Future Research ..............................................................................85 Conclusions............................................................................................................87 Appendix A. Descriptive Statistics..................................................................................................89 B. Correlation Matrix......................................................................................................90 C. Summary of Fixed-Effects Analyses of Private Giving to Public Colleges Universities 1994-2003..............................................................................................91 vi D. Summary of Fixed-Effects Analyses of Private Giving to Public Research I Universities 1994-2003..............................................................................................92 E. Summary of Fixed-Effects Analyses of Private Giving to Public Research II Universities 1994-2003……………………………………………………………..93 F. Summary of Fixed-Effects Analyses of Private Giving to Public Comprehensive Colleges and Universities 1994-2003 .........................................................................94 G. Summary of Fixed-Effects