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1. ARNOLD O. BECKMAN--$14.4 million to the ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM (Calif.) to promote science among elementary school children. The gift is the largest private gift ever made to public education in Orange County. The gift will go toward teacher training, direct grants to districts, and the creation of hundreds of hands-on kits for children to perform experiments. Beckman is a renowned inventor and founder of Beckman Instruments.

2. MICHAEL and SUSAN DELL, MORT and ANGELA TOPFER, KEVIN and DEBBIE ROLLINS, TOM and DEBORAH GREEN, and TOM and LYNN MEREDITH--$13 million to the AUSTIN MUSEUM OF ART (Texas) from the founder of Dell Computer Corp. and four other Dell executives and their spouses. "Clearly, we've all benefited greatly from Dell's success, and that carries a responsibility on us to be involved in the community. And we're happy to do that," said Tom Green. Mort Topfer and Kevin Rollins are vice chairmen of Dell, Tom Green is a senior vice president, and Tom Meredith is a senior vice president and chief financial officer of the company. Green is also chairman of the Dell Foundation.

2. ABRAHAM FEINBERG--$13 million to BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY (Mass.) to establish the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life. Feinberg was a New York businessman who served as chairman of the university's board of trustees from 1954 to 1961. He was chairman of the Israel-based Central Bottling Co. until his death in December 1998.

4. LESLIE S. HUBBARD--$12.3 million to the UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, comprising a $2.3 million endowment to the Climate Change Research Center to support research that will be named to honor his late wife, Iola, and $10 million to the marine sciences program. Hubbard, a 1927 graduate of the university, made his fortune breeding poultry at Hubbard Farms.

5. B. CHARLES and JOYCE AMES--a $12million challenge gift to ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. The Ameses promised to match, up to $3 million, alumni contributions made during the next three years, provided that graduates give a total of at least $1 million each year. The couple will also match donations from any giver, up to a total of $9 million, that are earmarked to construct the university's new library. Charles Ames is a former chairman of Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co.

5. BOB and SANDY BRACKETT--$12 million to HARDING UNIVERSITY in Searcy, Ark., to endow the library. The Bracketts, residents of Vero Beach, Fla., own Credit Data Services, a credit-reporting company.

5. A. WALLACE and EDITH LITCHFIELD DENNY--353 acres valued at $12 million to the SUN HEALTH FOUNDATION in Sun City, Ariz., to serve as the site of a health care center and residence for elderly people. The foundation is the nonprofit arm for a network of health care facilities. Wallace Denny is a former CEO of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. Edith Denny is the daughter of Paul Weeks Litchfield, a former head of Goodyear.

5. JOE and LEE JAMAIL--a total of$12 million: $2 million to the UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS alumni associations for minority scholarships. The Jamails said they hope the gifts will reverse a trend of lower minority enrollment at UT and its law school. And $10 million to the TEXAS HEART INSTITUTE in honor of surgeon Dr. Denton A. Cooley, who performed successful heart bypass surgery on Joe Jamail.

5. EDMUND and JEANETTE PRATT--$12 million to LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY (N.Y.), the largest gift in the school's history. The gift will pay for renovation and construction at the university's three campuses. Edmund Pratt is former chairman of Pfizer Inc., the pharmaceutical company.

10. KATHRYN WASSERMAN DAVIS--$11 million to WELLESLEY COLLEGE (Mass.) through her family's foundation for international studies with a focus on the former Soviet Union. This is the largest single gift in the college's history. Davis is a 1928 Wellesley graduate and has served as a trustee since 1984.

10. PAT TARBLE--$11 million to CARTHAGE COLLEGE in Kenosha, Wis.,--the largest gift in the college's history--to initiate the design and construction of an athletics and recreation complex. Tarble is the widow of the late Newton Tarble, co-founder of Snap-on Tools.