The University of Oregon Receives a Staggering Gift

Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are giving the University of Oregon what the school says is the largest-known gift to a public flagship university: a cool $1 billion. The money will bankroll the Knight College of Engineering—enabling the school to expand upon the engineering minors and graduate programs it currently offers—and push the Knight family's total giving to Oregon past $2 billion.

University President Karl Scholz calls it a powerful vote of confidence in higher education at a time of shrinking enrollment and financial pressures. Indeed, Scholz floated $65 million in fresh budget cuts in the spring. The new college is expected to take about a decade to fully build out and could help address a statewide shortage of engineers; Oregon Live reports it could be "a potential competitor to Oregon State University's well-established program just up the road." As for the Knights' donation, the New York Times notes it's unique among some of the largest contributions to American universities, which have generally been directed to private schools. Michael Bloomberg's donations to Johns Hopkins University, for example, total north of $3 billion.