Nike founder Phil Knight has donated $500 million to the Oregon Science Center, his gift being considered the largest ever donation to a public university.
As Sporting Goods Intelligence reports, the new Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact will include three new buildings near the Eugene campus’ current science center, plus fund 30 new research scientists, 250 graduate students and 150 post docs. They will focus on finding real world applications for basic science discoveries, according to a public statement.
The donation follows a $400 million gift from the Knights to Stanford University that will be used to fund a kind of Rhodes Scholars program there. Knight also donated $500 million to the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland that focuses on cancer research.
He has also supported his alma mater’s athletic program to the tune of tens of millions, says SGI.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.