Oregon Public Broadcasting

Add Willamette University to the places benefiting from Phil Knight’s money.

Willamette’s College of Law announced Wednesday a $5 million gift from the Nike founder. It will go toward an endowed chair in the college of law.

Knight has already given millions of dollars to the University of Oregon and Oregon Health and Science University, as well as Stanford University, all because of personal connections to the schools.

Knight’s connection to Willamette goes through his wife, Penny Parks Knight, according to Mike Bennett at the college of law.

Mike Bennett: “Her father, Alex Parks, was one of our law graduates from 1949. He was a legal practitioner; he was a successful lawyer. But late in his career, he came back and taught at Willamette, in 1980, until he died in 1988.” 

Bennett says the money will go into the school’s endowment, which has taken a significant hit in recent months - much like many private colleges across the country.

The gift puts the university $1 million short of its $125 million fundraising goal.