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Help UO Matters compile list of UO’s largest donors

Last updated on 05/19/2015

I’m trying to compile a list of UO’s academic and athletic donors – work in progress, these are mostly guesses, please post corrections in the comments.

ACADEMICS:

  1. Lorry Lokey: See below for a long list. Total = $140M.
  2. Phil Knight: ~$10M towards $27M Knight Library renovation,~$15M towards $36M Knight Law School, ~$30M towards $60M Knight Professorships. Total = ~$55M.
  3. Connie Ballmer:  $25M for PathwayOregon scholarships for low SES Oregonians, $20M for obesity prevention research. Total = $45M.
  4. Chuck and Gwen Lillis: $14M towards Lillis business school building (OUS here.)
  5. Don Tykeson: $10M towards $34M CAS building.
  6. Phyllis and Andrew Berwick: $7.25M to Oregon Bach Festival in 2014, $1.7M in earlier OBF gifts. $10M total.
  7. Jordan Schnitzer: ~$3M towards $14M art museum renovation, ?$M for endowment.
  8. Hope Anstett: $5 million towards Lillis business school building.
  9. Tim Boyle: $5 million for business case competition and architecture programs.
  10. Ronald & Patricia Peterson: $4 million towards Lillis business school building.
  11. Jean Pedersen; $2.5M for Natural History Museum, 2012.
  12. James & Shirley Rippey: $1 million for Lillis + funding for new professorship.

ATHLETICS:

  1. Phil Knight: ?M for Autzen expansion, $40M Jaqua jock box, $160M Football operations building, $100M Athletics Legacy Fund, $5M for 2010 soccer field etc., +$5M for 2013 Autzen zen garden.
  2. Robert and Jane Sanders: $10M towards $16.5M softball stadium in 2014, followed by $6M in 2015.
  3. Pat Kilkenny: $3M for old locker room renovation, $5M towards PK Park, $1M for the Matt Court floor.
  4. Robin Jaqua: $5M endowment to help athletics pay the jock box electric bill.
  5. Alan and Jean Pedersen; $2.5M for Football operations, 2012.

This was motivated by this Around the 0 report on Lorry Lokey: Taken together, Lokey’s support for academic programs at the University of Oregon alone totals nearly $140 million. Currently, the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library is under construction thanks to a lead gift made by Lokey in memory of Price, his friend and a former UO vice president for advancement. In 2007, the UO named its entire science complex for Lokey in appreciation for his transformational gift of $74.6 million to advance teaching and research in several disciplines, especially the sciences. Lokey also established the UO Fund for Faculty Excellence and provided significant support toward the total renovation of the historic education quad, expansion of the music building and creation of the UO’s state-of-the-art underground nanoscience research facility, the Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories.

28 Comments

  1. zach 05/18/2015

    How can you ever figure this out with such a large percentage of anonymous donations received ? Do we even know what percentage of the gifts are anonymous ?

  2. Sports Fan 05/18/2015

    The Pape family has likely donated more toward athletics than Lokey has donated toward academics.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/18/2015

      Got any details?

  3. Inigo Montoya 05/18/2015

    You made a mistake. Phil’s donation for the Jaqua Center for kids who can’t read good is managed on the academic side. It’s intent is to serve as an equal but different location as the academic advising office for undeclared students.

  4. Inigo Montoya 05/18/2015

    Also, don’t forget that Kilkenny donated some money to get Skybox built. I think the donation goes in the athletic column.

  5. LCB donors 05/18/2015

    Maybe UO should merge your Econ dept with the B-school.

    A few generous donors not named Lillis who helped establish Lillis:
    Hope Anstett—$5 million
    Ronald & Patricia Peterson—$4 million
    James & Shirley Rippey—$1 million for Lillis + funding for new professorship

    Other fun fact:
    Over 90% of Lillis funding came from private gifts

    https://business.uoregon.edu/lillis-complex

    Other names from google:
    Tim Boyle—$5 million for business case competition and architecture programs https://storify.com/suprememas790/columbia-sportswear-tim-boyle-wife-donate-dollar-5

    • uomatters Post author | 05/18/2015

      Thanks, very helpful list.

      Econ departments tend to do better when outside of b-schools, but don’t tell my brother I said that.

    • Inigo Montoya 05/18/2015

      Only $5 mil to scrape Gilbert’s name off the wall?

  6. Cat Lady 05/18/2015

    Lokey is really quite remarkable. He also gave a huge gift to the HEDCO building project fund and the remodeled old Education buildings are now named after him as well. He’s not even an alum, from what I remember.

  7. Inigo Montoya 05/18/2015

    Also, don’t forget that the President donates a quarter mil annually to athletics for their football tickets.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/18/2015

      Comment of the week. Contact our AVP for Comments for your U of Nike coffee cup.

  8. honest Uncle Bernie 05/18/2015

    didn’t Lokey give money to the music school too?

    • Oldtimer 05/18/2015

      Grayson money was returned and his name was removed from the building now known as McKenzie Hall.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/18/2015

      A beautiful story – but why did Frohnmayer sell the naming rights for so little?

      • Old Grey Mare 05/18/2015

        Anyone see the signs on the quad proclaiming a day of thanksgiving for the money given for Knight Library….in 1993?

      • Oldtimer 05/18/2015

        Compare with similar universities during the same time period.

  9. an easier way 05/19/2015

    UO advancement can easily answer your question.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/19/2015

      Good idea, I just sent them an email.

  10. Disappointed Duck 05/19/2015

    #2 athletics should be “Sanders”

  11. Disappointed Duck 05/19/2015

    Ballmer combined gifts totaled $50 million according to news sources.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/19/2015

      I’m leaving out the $5M for branding. Not academic.

  12. Texas Guy 05/19/2015

    The Rippeys have also given money for innovative teaching awards for FIG faculty.

  13. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 05/19/2015

    I’d assume the Jaqua family would have to be on the academic list- weren’t they instrumental in getting the law school funded (John E. Jaqua Library…).

  14. zach 05/22/2015

    Powell plaza at Hayward was created with a 1.25 million dollar gift- some of which was from Peter Powell.

  15. zach 05/26/2015

    Pat Kilkenny donated 1.5 mil for the creation of the Farkas Report which was a planning document that helped move the UO arena project and related Skybox/ Courtside development forward.

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