Phil Knight Donates $1 Billion: The Largest Single Gift to a Public University in History

Phil Knight and his wife Penny have sprinted back to their alma mater with a gift that has left jaws dropping across the nation. The Nike co-founder and his wife, who have a history of philanthropy, have announced a donation of $1 billion to the University of Oregon. This historic contribution marks the largest single donation ever made to an American public university. When Mr. Knight called University President Karl Scholz earlier in September, the conversation did not go according to the president’s planner. Mr. Knight delivered the news from a San Francisco airport terminal.

The purpose of this massive infusion of capital is to establish a new college focused entirely on engineering. University officials say this gift allows the school to combine various educational offerings into a comprehensive undergraduate program for engineering. This move comes at a critical time as the state faces a shortage of engineers. Oregon Vice President Bob Guldberg noted that the resources will help streamline what were once disparate educational offerings into a single, robust program. President Scholz described the gesture as a "screaming endorsement" of the importance of higher education.

This is not the first time Mr. Knight has supported his alma mater. His name appears prominently across the campus, from the law center to the sports complexes and the library. His foundation had already given the university $1 billion in combined gifts over the decades. The school is sometimes affectionately referred to as the University of Nike due to this deep connection. "One of the most successful businesspeople in the history of humanity, and one of the most generous philanthropists in the history of humanity, has said higher education is worth an investment of this magnitude," Scholz stated.