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UO Launches $1 billion for the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

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Thanks to an extraordinary $500 million lead gift, the University of Oregon is proud to announce the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. This game-changing initiative is specifically designed to fast-track scientific discoveries and the process of turning those discoveries into innovations that improve the quality of life for people in Oregon, the nation and beyond. The Knight Campus will reshape the higher education landscape in Oregon by training the next generations of scientists, forging tighter ties with industry and entrepreneurs and creating new educational opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.

This ambitious effort to rethink research, science education and innovation at the UO is being realized thanks to the generosity of Penny and Phil Knight, BBA ’59.

Phil Knight earned his business degree at the UO while running track under the legendary Bill Bowerman. They would go on to cofound Nike, the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment.

Over the years, Penny and Phil Knight have transformed the lives of UO students as well as faculty, staff and community members through generous philanthropic support that spans athletics and academics. Their latest gift invests in Oregon’s greatest strengths: deep skill and talent in discovery-based science and a 50-year history of breakthroughs stemming from collaborative, interdisciplinary research.

Check out the rest of the article, The FutureStarts Now on the Around the O online magazine.