BIRMINGHAM, AL (AP) University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) fund-raising campaign ended with an announcement that $382 million has been donated or pledged for campus construction projects and other needs –– a total that exceeded the campaign’s initial goal of $250 million set in 1999.

More than $300 million is already in UAB’s possession and put to work, UAB officials announced. The remaining $82 million has been pledged and will come later.

While UAB’s capital campaign set a state record, it’s still less than other universities nationwide, the Birmingham News reported.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, 21 universities now are conducting $1 billion capital campaigns.

Another problem for UAB: the level of support from the state of Alabama lags.

University President Carol Z. Garrison said UAB needs state dollars, but “to really stay competitive, to keep the best and brightest students here, we’ve got to have outside support.”

Part of the University of Alabama system, UAB became a stand-alone university in 1969 and has grown into Birmingham’s single-largest employer with more than 16,000 jobs.

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