Nike Co-Founder Gives $500 Million for Oregon Science Center
October 18 2016 - 01:30AM
Dow Jones News
The University of Oregon is launching a new science campus,
backed by a $500 million gift from Nike Inc. co-founder Phil Knight
and his wife, Penny.
The Knight gift is the largest ever for a public flagship
institution, according to university officials, and tied for the
family's biggest to a school.
The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific
Impact will focus on finding real-world applications for more basic
scientific discoveries, according to school officials.
In coming years, the university expects to build three research
facilities across from its current science complex in Eugene, Ore.,
hire 30 new research scientists and add spots for 250 graduate
students and 150 postdoctoral researchers.
"This is a seminal moment for the University of Oregon, an
inflection point that will shape the trajectory of the university
and this state for the next century and beyond," President Michael
Schill said in a press release.
In 2013, the Knights announced a $500 million matched gift for
cancer research to the Oregon Health & Science University in
Portland; the school met the challenge last year. And in February,
they announced a $400 million donation to Stanford University for
a graduate scholars program.
So-called mega-gifts to colleges have become more commonplace in
recent years, particularly at institutions like Harvard University
and Stanford. Each of those schools netted more than $1 billion in
donations last year alone, anchored by a handful of nine-figure
donations. But such massive gifts are still relatively rare at
public universities.
"There's been a lot of discussion about these gifts going from
the top 1% to the top 1%. This is a wonderful antidote to the
criticism," Mr. Schill said in an interview, noting that more than
one-third of Oregon undergraduates are considered low income.
Separately, the White House released statistics Monday showing
that 73.8% of Oregon students graduated from high school last year,
one of the lowest graduation rates in the country. The national
rate is 83.2%.
Mr. Schill said one of his early goals when becoming president
15 months ago was to expand the research capacity of the
institution, which doesn't have its own medical school. The school
approached the Knight family about a gift to back a proposed
science center, and Mr. Schill said he was stunned by the amount
they offered.
Mr. Knight said the investment was intended to address funding
problems in basic scientific research and public higher education.
Such financial woes "threaten to choke off opportunities to enhance
standards of living," he said.
"Collaborative scientific research is a comparative strength at
the University of Oregon, and with appropriate support could
develop into a major center of excellence and a national treasure,"
Mr. Knight added.
Patrick Phillips, acting executive director of the new campus,
said the gift will allow Oregon to attract high-caliber scientists
interested in interdisciplinary and practical research. Improved
faculty recruiting could, in turn, help the school appeal to more
science-minded students. The new campus is expected to have
research opportunities for 150 undergraduates.
The school is aiming to open the first new building in three
years, and have the entire program in full operation in a
decade.
"It gives us an opportunity to rethink the shape of the modern
research university, where the boundaries between fields are really
starting to erode," he said.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 18, 2016 01:15 ET (05:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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