Sample's fundraising initiatives raised more than $430 million for sponsored research. He led two strategic planning processes to improve the university on the whole. During his term, the university also conducted the second most successful fundraising campaign in the history of higher education, raising nearly $3 billion. These donations included major contributions of $112.5 million from Alfred Mann to establish the Mann Institute of Biomedical Engineering, $120 million from Ambassador Walter Annenberg to create the Annenberg Center for Communication, $100 million from the Annenberg Foundation, and a $110 million from the W. M. Keck Foundation for the Keck School of Medicine.About USC: A brief history: Steven B. Sample (1991-present) , USC Catalogue 2006–2007. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California. 2006. Retrieved June 3, 2014. More recently, Sample has overseen the $175 million gift from George Lucas to the School of Cinematic Arts.
