Knight Gift to Fund New Engineering College at University of Oregon
Phil and Penny Knight are donating $1 billion to establish a College of Engineering at the University of Oregon. The new college will also support bioengineering and aim to address workforce gaps in STEM fields. The university expects about 2,500 engineering job openings annually in Oregon.
The $1 billion gift follows the Knights’ earlier $500 million contribution that created the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact in 2016, which now hosts 17 research labs and engages over 500 students and trainees each year. That campus already houses the university’s first bioengineering department, and it will serve as the home for the new engineering college. The announcement cites federal data projecting STEM job growth at triple the rate of other fields, while Oregon alone expects roughly 2,500 engineering openings annually—positions employers say are hard to fill. Senator Ron Wyden praised the donation as a response to statewide workforce needs, and UO President Karl Scholz noted the Knights’ pattern of investing before outcomes are proven.
This donation could significantly reshape Oregon’s higher-education landscape, potentially easing local labor shortages in engineering and related STEM fields. Students may gain expanded access to bioengineering and product-focused research, while the state could see a steadier pipeline of graduates ready for high-demand jobs. The scale of the gift may also influence how other universities approach private philanthropy for technical programs, though its long-term effect depends on curriculum design, industry partnerships, and whether graduates remain in Oregon.