Phil and Penny Knight have pledged $1 billion to the University of Oregon to create the Knight College of Engineering at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact in Eugene. The university called it the "largest gift ever made to a comprehensive public university." The endowment will prioritize bioengineering and other high‑demand fields, recruit faculty and researchers, and help move lab discoveries into products and companies. This is the Knights' third major gift to the university in the past decade.
Phil and Penny Knight Donate $1 Billion to Launch Knight College of Engineering at University of Oregon
Nike Cofounder Phil Knight Donates $1 Billion For New Engineering School
Phil Knight, cofounder of Nike, and his wife Penny have donated $1 billion to the University of Oregon to establish the Knight College of Engineering. The new college will be housed at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact in Eugene, Oregon.
What the Gift Will Support
The university described the pledge as the "largest gift ever made to a comprehensive public university." According to University of Oregon officials, the endowment will fund a college focused on educating engineers and applied scientists—particularly in bioengineering and other high‑demand disciplines—recruiting top faculty and researchers, and accelerating the translation of laboratory discoveries into products, therapies, technologies and new companies.
Karl Scholz, University of Oregon President: "Phil and Penny Knight have a long history of believing in things before they exist. This gift builds on that vision and will expand the university's capacity to turn research into real‑world impact."
Knight is an alumnus, a member of the University of Oregon's Class of 1959. This $1 billion contribution is the Knights' third major commitment to the university over the past decade: they previously gave $500 million in 2016 and another $500 million in 2021 to expand the Knight Campus.
Potential Impact
University leaders say the new college is intended to strengthen the institution's role in training the next generation of engineers and applied scientists and to speed the commercialization of innovations emerging from campus research. The gift is expected to attract leading scholars and foster partnerships with industry and investors to bring technologies from lab to market.
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