Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are giving $1 billion to the University of Oregon to create a new engineering college. University leaders and Intel's CEO say the gift targets the semiconductor workforce shortage hitting Washington County and the state.
The Beaverton-based Nike co-founder announced the donation Wednesday, Sept. 23. The University of Oregon will use the money to launch the Knight College of Engineering, housed at the existing Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact in Eugene, OregonLive first reported.
The gift is the largest known donation to a public flagship university in the United States, according to The New York Times.
The announcement carries particular weight in Washington County. Intel, Oregon's largest corporate employer, has about 16,000 workers at its campuses and chip factories there.
That's down from 23,000 as recently as 2024, and the state's semiconductor workforce has hit a 30-year low after roughly 6,000 Intel layoffs and hundreds of additional cuts at other chipmakers.
"Oregon has the companies, the workforce and the research," said Renée James, a UO trustee and former Intel president. "What it has not had is a pipeline big enough to feed all three."
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a statement that Oregon needs engineers and that Intel, after more than five decades in the state, understands the importance of strong engineering talent. Inc. magazine reported that Oregon needs 2,500 new engineers a year.
A Business Oregon report warned the state's semiconductor industry could become "insignificant" globally without a stronger talent pipeline. Oregon's electronics sector accounts for more than $14 billion in exports annually.
The new college will train engineers and applied scientists in bioengineering and other high-demand fields, according to UO spokesperson Molly Blancett. It is the third Knight commitment at this scale in 10 years, following $500 million gifts in 2016 and 2021 that created and expanded the Knight Campus.
In July, a consortium called FAST (Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology), led by Oregon State University and including Intel, the University of Oregon and Portland State University, won a National Science Foundation grant initially worth $15 million. That grant could grow to $160 million over a decade to boost semiconductor research statewide.
The gift follows the Knights' Sept. 15 donation of $1.1 billion to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center for a women's health hospital and cardiac research. In 2025, they donated $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University for cancer treatment. Forbes valued the Knights' fortune at $25 billion and estimated their charitable giving at $4.5 billion before Wednesday's announcement.
Knight, 88, ran track at UO and co-founded Nike with his former coach Bill Bowerman in 1964. The university has not announced a timeline for when the Knight College of Engineering will begin enrolling students.
