Nike co-founder Phil Knight and wife pledge record $2B to Oregon cancer center, university says
This June 28, 2016 file photo shows the Oregon Health & Science University Campus in Portland, Ore. Credit: AP/Mark Graves
PORTLAND, Ore. — Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny Knight have pledged to donate $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute, the school announced Thursday, describing it as the largest single gift to a U.S. university.
“This gift is an unprecedented investment in the millions of lives burdened with cancer, especially patients and families here in Oregon,” OHSU President Shereef Elnahal said in a statement.
The donation will help ensure patients have access to various resources, including psychological, genetic and financial counseling, symptom management, nutritional support and survivorship care, the university statement said.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the transformational potential of this work for humanity,” the Knights said in the statement.
The university described it as the “largest single donation ever made to a U.S. university, college or academic health center.” It surpasses the $1.8 billion given by Michael Bloomberg to Johns Hopkins in 2018, described by that university at the time as the largest single contribution to a U.S. university.
Bloomberg also donated an additional $1 billion to Johns Hopkins last year, covering tuition, living expenses and fees for students from families under certain income levels.
The magnitude of the donation will allow the Knight Cancer Institute to become a self-governed entity with its own board of directors within OHSU, the university said.
In this Sept. 26, 2015, file photo, Nike co-founder Phil Knight watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Oregon and Utah in Eugene, Ore. Credit: AP/Ryan Kang
Knight is Oregon’s richest man. In 2013, he and his wife pledged $500 million to the cancer institute if the university matched it within two years. The match was met following $200 million in bonds from the Oregon Legislature, $100 million from then-chair of Columbia Sportswear Gert Boyle and donations from some 10,000 people, the university said.
Universities across the country are struggling with moves from President Donald Trump's administration to cancel or freeze research grants at universities.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep. 6: Top football teams in action and soccer playoffs roundup Gregg Sarra sounds off on Farmingdale vs. Massapequa and the battle between Longwood and Floyd, plus Michael Sicoli recaps some of the playoff soccer games, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep. 6: Top football teams in action and soccer playoffs roundup Gregg Sarra sounds off on Farmingdale vs. Massapequa and the battle between Longwood and Floyd, plus Michael Sicoli recaps some of the playoff soccer games, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
