clipped from: www.mcclatchydc.com Just over $1 million.
Private contributions of more than $185,000 (including in-kind-gifts) added to $500,000 in unrestricted interest earnings on a private endowment fund, managed by the UC Office of the President, have helped offset the cost of the event.
The balance will be covered by non-state dollars from campus sources and offset by any additional donations that may be made, according to a press release from UC Merced.
The original budget for the ceremony to commemorate the university's campus' first, full, four-year graduating class was $100,000, officials on campus said this Spring.