© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

$1 Billion U of O Facility Unveiled, Construction To Start In 2018

Brian Bull
/
KLCC

Today, University of Oregon officials announced the design of a new science facility that’ll open to students and faculty in three years.  KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.  

Construction on The Knight Campus for Accelerated Scientific Impact is due to start next spring.   Phil and Penny Knight donated $500 million to the U of O towards its development and construction.  $50 million in state bonds will also fund the project.  

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
U of O President Michael Schill opens today's announcement.

Todd Schliemann  is one of the lead architects for the facility.  He says he’s never before designed a building that promises this kind of scientific collaboration.

“It’s rare that you find a research building that’s so compact," he tells KLCC. "Usually they’re strung out and long, and a distance between the lab bench, the wet bench, the research bench…and where the staff works, and often times where the offices are. 

"It fits perfectly with the mission of the Knight Campus.  They’re collaborative!” 

The overall cost of the Knight Campus is projected at $1 billion.   The U of O Board of Trustees approved spending $225 million on it at a special meeting last week.

Phil Knight is a U of O graduate, and co-founder of shoe giant, Nike.

Copyright 2017, KLCC. 

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
Related Content