All but one of the 11 citizen members named by Gov. Ridge to the board that runs the Pennsylvania state university system gave money, or had family members who contributed, to the governor's campaign committee.

The sum is $184,000, campaign records show.

Individuals' total donations covered a broad range - from $60 given by John Thornburgh, son of the former Republican governor, to $50,000 from F. Eugene Dixon, former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and chairman of the board.

Critics, including some of the governor's fellow Republicans, say these appointments are evidence that giving money buys clout in government - or at least leaves that impression with the public.

``I believe that the contributions had an influence on them getting on that board,'' said Rep. John Lawless (R., Montgomery), an outspoken critic of the university system. ``What happens to the person who is just a good guy or gal who wants to serve the public? Well, guess what: You lose. Ante up or get out.''

A top Ridge official vehemently disputed such assertions, and one board member said the members of the board were ``working their behinds off'' on their own time to help the education system. The four-year board positions are unpaid.

Three of the citizen members of the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education are graduates of the 14 state-owned universities the board oversees. The system includes Cheyney and West Chester Universities in the Philadelphia area. The board does not oversee state-related universities, such as Temple and Pennsylvania State, that get some state funding.

The board, which sets policy and tuition, has 20 members. Besides the citizens, they include students, legislators and administration officials. Ridge's nominees require confirmation by the Senate, now dominated by Republicans.

Another Republican critic, Rep. Pat Carone of Butler County, who heads the House higher education subcommittee, cited an ``appearance problem'' with the appointments. And the director of the citizen watchdog group Common Cause said they gave ``the public appearance of government being for sale - or at the very least, appointments being for sale.''

Mark Holman, Ridge's chief of staff and his representative on the board, said it was not unusual for a governor to pick appointees from among his contributors, because they are often people he knows.

``There's no `pay for play' in the Ridge administration. Never has been, never will be,'' said Holman. ``It's not a requirement that you contribute to the governor to get on a board. Period.''

Asked about the appearance of the appointments, Holman, who was Ridge's 1994 campaign manager, said: ``You draw your own conclusion.''

Kenn Marshall, spokesman for the university system, said the board members were ``very qualified and very interested.'' He acknowledged that the public could ``look at that [contributions] and think that's how they got on the board.''

``Obviously, that perception could be there, that they are there because they gave contributions to the governor,'' said Marshall. ``But that's for the governor to answer. We're very pleased with the board we have in place.''

More than three-quarters of the $184,000 was contributed in 1993 and 1994, before Ridge was elected, though some continued after he took office. Ridge is up for reelection this year.

Nine members contributed directly to Ridge's campaign - donations that totaled $141,000 from 1993 through 1997. Board member Muriel Berman did not give, but her husband, the late Allentown philanthropist Philip Berman, contributed a total of $11,450.

A number of members also contribute to state parties, legislative leaders or House or Senate campaign committees. They donated $47,050 to Republicans and $1,600 to Democrats from 1995 through 1997.

Dixon, the former Sixers owner, was the largest Ridge contributor on the university board. In addition, he has given generously to the state university system - $3 million to $4 million, Marshall estimated. Dixon, who is also chairman of the state Horse Racing Commission, did not return phone calls to his office.

Dixon, of Lafayette Hill, has been a member of the board since its creation in 1983. He has been reappointed by a number of governors, including one Democrat, Robert P. Casey. The only other Casey appointee is Berman, said Marshall.

The second-largest Ridge contributor on the university board is its vice chairman, Kim E. Lyttle. Lyttle, a vice president at National City Bank of Pennsylvania, gave a total of $41,225 through a PAC for Integra Financial Corp.

Lyttle and Philip Berman also were members of the board of directors of the Governor's Club - a special group of donors who pledged to give or raise at least $50,000 for Ridge's campaign from 1995 through 1998. Club members get to attend dinners, golf outings and other special events with Ridge.

Ridge has named 40 club members - who numbered 228 as of last year - to various state boards and commissions. Some have been appointed to two or three boards.

University system board member Rocco Ortenzio of suburban Harrisburg, an executive with Select Medical Corp., has contributed $9,500 to Ridge. His son, John, who donated $22,400, is a member of the Governor's Club board.

John Ortenzio runs CCI Construction Co., which has state contracts worth more than $20 million, according to state records. A second son, Robert Ortenzio, gave Ridge's campaign $500.

Board member Charles Gomulka, who gave Ridge $6,670, is with the Pittsburgh-based firm of Russell, Rea, Zappalla and Gomulka. The company has a state contract to serve as underwriter for a $6 million bond issue by Gannon University in Erie; Gannon is not part of the state system. The firm also underwrites bond issues for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

Gomulka's wife, Deborah, contributed $9,100 to Ridge.

Board member Christine Toretti is the GOP national committeewoman from Pennsylvania. Each state has three members on the national committee, which approves the party platform, among other things. Toretti is president and chief executive officer of a natural-gas drilling company in Indiana, Pa.

``I don't think it matters if they're contributors or not,'' she said. ``You just find the most qualified people to serve on the board.

``I probably gave more to the commonwealth than to the governor with my service the last three years,'' said Toretti, who has given Ridge's campaign $10,500 and the state GOP $25,000.

``I didn't ask to be put on the state system. Tom asked me to serve, at a sacrifice to me and my family. All of the people who are on that board right now - all of the private-sector people - are working their behinds off to help.''

John Thornburgh, son of former Gov. Dick Thornburgh, is another high-profile political name on the committee. At the time of his nomination by Ridge, he was a vice president for Bell Atlantic, which had contributed a total of $5,600 in two months after Ridge's 1994 election. Thornburgh was appointed in May 1997 and is now president of Penn's Southwest Associates, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development in southwestern Pennsylvania. He was in Japan on business last week and not available for comment.

All the other board members who contributed gave at least $1,500.

The one citizen appointee who did not contribute was Daniel P. Elby, who heads a Harrisburg-based alternative education program for troubled youth.