The record amount of support supplied last year by the Kansas University Endowment Association is a vivid reminder of the vital role private giving plays in the life of the university.

KU Endowment announced last week that it had supplied $184.6 million in fiscal year 2015 to support students, faculty and facilities at KU. That’s a whopping 48 percent more than the previous year.

Several large construction projects contributed to the spike: the $70 million Capitol Federal Hall, which will house the KU School of Business; the $18 million DeBruce Center, which will house the “Original Rules of Basket Ball” penned by James Naismith; and the $11.2 million McCarthy Hall, the new apartment building where the men’s basketball players now live.

In addition to the Endowment investment in campus landscaping, buildings and programs, Endowment dollars also went to help support more than 6,500 students and 190 endowed professors and faculty members at KU.

It’s hard to imagine what KU would be without the loyal and growing support of private donors.

Those private dollars have been essential to maintain and increase the university’s level of excellence as the percentage of KU’s operating budget covered by state funding has declined. In too many cases, legislators have used KU’s robust endowment as an excuse for providing less state funding for the state’s largest public university. Rather than allowing the generosity of private givers to provide the extras KU needs to become a true world-class university, state legislators have forced KU to use private money to pay for basic needs that should be covered by the state.

Figures supplied by the KU Endowment Association show steady increases in support over the last several years, and Endowment officials say they expect that trend to continue. That’s great news for KU, its students and faculty and a tribute to the fundraising ability and stewardship of KU Endowment.