Entry 6:

58. GORDON A. and MARY CAIN--a total of $15 million: $10 million to LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY for the department of chemical engineering, and $5 million to RICE UNIVERSITY (Texas) to develop writing and communication programs for science and engineering students. Gordon Cain, an LSU alumnus, is the former chairman of Sterling Chemicals, and the co-founder of the Sterling Group, a merchant bank that sponsors and invests in leveraged buyouts in the petrochemical industry.

58. JACK and CAMILLE "CAMMY" GAREY-- a $15 million bequest promise to SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (Texas). The donors say they have invested their eight figure donation and will bequeath it to the school when they die. The earnings will go into an endowment entirely for scholarships. Jack Garey, 68, is a former workers' compensation attorney and the owner of Garey Construction Co. of Austin, a major highway contractor. Cammy Garey, 58, is a retired physical therapist who manages the family cattle ranch. The Gareys are University of Texas graduates.

58. IRWIN M. and JOAN K. JACOBS--$15 million to the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO for an endowment to hire additional faculty and to support a major expansion of the school of engineering--which has been named for the Jacobses--among other purposes. Irwin Jacobs is a former professor of computer science and engineering at what was then UCSD's school of applied electrophysics. He is also the founder of Qualcomm Inc., a digital communications company. Joan Jacobs serves on the board of overseers, an advisory group to the chancellor. She co-founded the UCSD Friends of the International Center.

58. GEORGE DEAN JR. and SUSAN JOHNSON--$15 million to CONVERSE COLLEGE (S.C.) as a challenge gift if others give twice as much. The bulk of the gift will go toward the construction of a technology building. The remainder of the Johnsons' donation, as well as the challenge funds, will be used to finance other projects such as scholarships, new curricula, and endowment. George Johnson is president of Extended Stay America, which owns and manages lodgings for people who conduct out-of-town business.

58. BERNARD OSHER--a total of $15 million: $10 million to the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN FRANCISCO to establish the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. The UCSF School of Medicine has committed an additional $1.1 million to the center, and UCSF Stanford Health Care has matched the school's financial commitment. Also, $4 million divided equally among BATES COLLEGE, BOWDOIN COLLEGE, COLBY COLLEGE, and the UNIVERSITY OF MAINE system for scholarship aid to in-state students. Osher was born in Biddeford, Maine, and graduated from Bowdoin in 1948. "I grew up in Maine, and I know what a struggle it is for many Maine families and their talented sons and daughters to cope with the costs of college," said Osher, who is 70. Also, $1 million to the SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE for scholarships.

58. GERALD "RED" RATNER--$15 million to the UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO to help build the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center. Ratner is a 1935 graduate of the university, which has long been concerned that it was losing potential students to Stanford, Harvard, and other top universities that offer a more attractive social life on campus. The center "will help us realize a dream that we and many alumni have shared for years," said university President Hugo Sonnenschein.

58. HENRY R. SILVERMAN--$15 million to the UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Law School to renovate a 98-year-old building, to be renamed for Silverman, which was part of the school's original campus. The former head of Cendant Corp., a business and consumer services company based in Connecticut and New Jersey, Silverman is a 1964 alumnus and a trustee of the school.

58. ROBERT H. SMITH--$15 million to the UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK for the business school, which has been renamed for the donor. The gift will endow professorships, scholarships, fellowships, a career management center, and a dean's discretionary fund. Smith, a 1950 graduate of the business school, said he accelerated his gift when he learned that William E. Kirwan, the university's president, was leaving Maryland in the summer of 1998 to become president of Ohio State University. Smith is co-CEO and co-chairman of Charles E. Smith Residential Realty Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust that developed Crystal City near Alexandria, Va. He also serves on the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery.

Photographs of: Gordon and Mary McCain courtesy of LSU; Camille and Jack Garey courtesy of Southwestern University.