Sneaker billionaire behind the biggest university gift in US history gives his alma mater $1B
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, have pledged US$1 billion to the University of Oregon to create an engineering college, the largest known gift to a U.S. public flagship university.
On September 23, a sneaker magnate announced that he is donating $1 billion to his alma mater, the University of Oregon. The generous sum will be paid over a decade and will fund a new building on the Knight Campus in Eugene, faculty hiring, and the school's ongoing operational costs. Knight Campus Director Robert Guldberg made the announcement to reporters, informing them that the university will use the funds to train engineers and applied scientists in bioengineering and other high-demand fields.
The university plans to expand its engineering program from minors and graduate programs to a full undergraduate curriculum, a process expected to take around ten years. The university anticipates a substantial increase in its faculty, from 17 to 42 members, and a more than doubling of its current student body of approximately 500.
University President Karl Scholz expressed gratitude for the massive gift, highlighting it as a positive development at a time when the institution is grappling with budget cuts to the tune of $65 million. These cuts are primarily due to a decline in enrollment of out-of-state students, who contribute significantly more tuition than their Oregon-resident counterparts.
Scholz noted that the money is earmarked specifically for engineering and does not address the university's existing structural deficit. The philanthropist, Knight, who graduated from the university in 1959, has already contributed over $2 billion to the school through two $500 million gifts in 2016 and 2021, which were used to build and expand the Knight Campus.
Written by urgent.news from VnExpress International's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
