Although her painful fight with ovarian cancer lasted a full eight years before her death, Joyce Galya still found time to raise millions of dollars for the University of Miami.

Juggling seven-hour chemotherapy sessions, raising her two children and leading UM's fundraising efforts wasn't easy, but Galya's determination was fierce, family members said.

Galya died Saturday afternoon at Baptist Hospital in Kendall. She was 57.

''We've lost someone who's made more of a contribution than we'll ever be able to tell,'' said Shawn Post, a longtime friend and the associate dean of UM's School of Education.

Post met Galya at UM in 1971, when the 20-year-old with mocha brown eyes and long, dark, straight hair was still studying social work. Galya had just transferred to UM from a two-year college in Skokie, Ill., where she had grown up after moving from Brooklyn, where she was born in 1951.

Soon after graduating cum laude from UM, Galya dove into the Miami world of fundraisers and donation drives. She worked at the United Way for a few years before returning to UM for an MBA. Within a year of her 1984 graduation, she was hired to raise funds for the university.

As the director of the university's Citizens Board for more than 25 years, her responsibility was to find donors to generate a large share of the private institution's funds.

''It's not easy. If there are 100 business execs in the group, there can be 200 opinions on how things can be done. She was very successful on generating consensus on the big issues,'' said Bruce Rubin, a fellow member of the board.

IRON ARROW

Through her efforts, the board raised millions of dollars: $3.5 million for the Convocation Center, $1.2 million for the School of Architecture, $1 million for the School of Business, and more. To thank her in 1996, the university awarded Galya the Iron Arrow, UM's highest honor.

Galya continued her work even after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in June 2000.

Doctors told her she had no more than two years to live, said Mario Capone, her fiancé. After a reflective period with her family and a solemn acceptance of her fate, Galya redoubled her efforts.

Donations for the school came in streams as she kept the board members organized with a common purpose despite her agonizing chemotherapy sessions. She outlived the doctors' prognosis, and in 2005 and 2006 alone she helped raise $43 million for the school. In recognition, she received the key to the city of Coral Gables and had the Joyce Galya Family Endowed Scholarship at the School of Business created in her honor by board members.

The idea for what would be Galya's last endeavor, a regional program called Making Movies Matter, came to her as she waited for a chemotherapy session in 2007. The arduous wait that tested patients' patience was manageable for her, in part because of her portable DVD player.

She soon began to collect movies and portable DVD players, hoping to ease the pain of an already difficult experience by having cancer patients watch movies during their treatments.

PROGRAM IN PLACE

That program is now in place at Baptist, South Miami, Sylvester and Children's hospitals, according to Capone.

Galya is survived by her son, Scott, and daughter, Tracy, both UM graduates; her fiancé, Mario Capone; her father, Louis Shuter; and her brother, Robert Shuter.

Her burial will be at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Queens, N.Y. A memorial service will be held at a yet-undetermined location at UM on Friday.

Donations may be made to the Making Movies Matter DVD Program at the named hospitals.