Key Takeaways
- Phil and Penny Knight pledged $1 billion to create the Phil and Penny Knight $1 billion engineering college at UO.
- The college will expand engineering programs and offer scholarships to students needing financial support.
- UO expects the expansion to create jobs, increase enrollment and strengthen Oregon’s workforce.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny Knight, have committed $1 billion to create an engineering college at the University of Oregon, expanding a campus they helped launch as the university faces financial pressure and labor unrest.
The university announced the commitment Wednesday for the proposed Knight College of Engineering at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The gift is the Knights’ third major commitment to the campus in 10 years, bringing their total commitments there to $2 billion.
Phil and Penny Knight $1 billion engineering college expands UO
The college is expected to train engineers and applied scientists in bioengineering and other high-demand fields. The targeted funding will support the engineering college, including scholarships for students who need financial assistance.
The Phil and Penny Knight $1 billion engineering college initiative is expected to train engineers and applied scientists in bioengineering and other high-demand fields.
Robert Guldberg, UO vice president and executive director of the Knight Campus, said the investment and new programs are expected to more than double the number of faculty and students at the campus.
“The idea is really to diversify the educational offerings we have and be able to attract more students,” Guldberg said. He said the expansion also could help address demand for engineers and other problem solvers.
The university says the proposed college will build on work that began in 2016. The Knight Campus now includes UO’s first engineering department, 17 research laboratories and more than 500 students and trainees involved in its programs each year.
Gift comes as UO faces budget pressure
The commitment arrives as UO works through a projected $65 million budget shortfall. Classified employees at Oregon’s seven public universities have also authorized a strike that could begin as early as Sept. 28, according to OPB.
Guldberg said the new programs could help UO attract students and generate additional tuition revenue over time. He described the investment as a “generational opportunity” for the university.
UO estimates the expanded Knight Campus could nearly double its economic impact on Oregon. The university projects the investment will support an average of 867 jobs annually over 15 years, generate about $1.2 billion in labor income and return about $119 million in state and local taxes.
Federal projections show STEM employment is expected to grow nearly three times as fast as non-STEM employment, with science and engineering occupations among the fastest-growing fields.
State leaders cite workforce needs
Oregon expects about 2,500 engineering job openings each year, according to UO officials, who say employers often struggle to fill those positions.
“To attract companies and taxes to the state, we’ve got to be generating the workforce those companies need,” Guldberg said.
The proposed college must go through state and university governance processes before it is formally established. Guldberg said UO hopes to build a new engineering facility within the next couple of years.
The university says the college will focus on bioengineering and related fields while linking engineering education with basic sciences, data science, medicine, communication, entrepreneurship and ethics.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a University of Oregon alumnus, said the gift could help the university meet the need for engineers in Oregon and across the country.
“As a proud University of Oregon alumnus, I know my alma mater will put this massive investment to great use,” Wyden said.
The Phil and Penny Knight $1 billion engineering college pledge comes as UO works through a projected $65 million budget shortfall.
The engineering pledge follows the Knights’ $1.1 billion commitment last week to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and Providence Heart Institute. The couple also pledged $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Research Institute in 2025.