UO steps up request for $100 million in state bonds for Knight science campus

The University of Oregon is stepping up the pressure on lawmakers to kick in $100 million in state bonds to help pay for two new science buildings in Eugene.

School officials briefed members of the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development Thursday afternoon on the latest updates on the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, the $1 billion project announced last October and backed by the Nike co-founder and his wife.

The informational session was the first public discussion of the project before the Legislature and comes as the school competes for a limited pot of capital construction funds during a session in which lawmakers already are facing a more than $1 billion revenue shortfall.

Gov. Kate Brown's recommended budget released last year included $34 million for a "first installment" to UO. It would phase in support over three bienniums. But school officials say that plan would affect the university's overall vision for the campus.

"We don't take this request lightly," Patrick Phillips, a UO biology professor and interim executive director of the Knight campus, told the committee. "We recognize that this is a difficult time, but it's also an unprecedented opportunity. We really have only one chance to do this."

UO announced the project in October and called it the largest gift to a public university in U.S. history. The Knights pledged $50 million per year for a decade. Phillips said the school is committed to breaking ground on the first two of three planned 75,000-square-foot buildings this fall. The university hopes to have both completed by 2020.

If the state approves $100 million in bonds, UO would match that amount, using part of the $500 million gift from the Knights, to help pay for the two buildings. If the state adopts the governor's approach, Phillips said, that would affect the "scale and scope" of the project.

The university plans to raise another $500 million for the project from other donors over the next decade and eventually hopes to build a third building on the site, which sits across Franklin Boulevard from the main campus.

One lawmaker asked why the school wasn't seeking more private help sooner.

"I was a little taken back that private investment hasn't been sought yet," said Rep. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro. "You have one donor and you're asking for state support."

The Knight campus Is envisioned as a hub for the life sciences - biology, microbiology, biochemistry and other disciplines - which already are strengths at the school. The idea is that discoveries from the scientists and students on campus will help fuel spin-off inventions and companies. Those companies would ideally stay in the state, officials said, and fuel further innovation.

Michelle Sconce, a Veneta native and doctoral student at UO, said the Knight complex would be a huge win for women in science and for bringing more diversity to the faculty.

Sconce hopes to remain in Oregon after finishing her program, but said that the job market is tough. Researchers can "go to San Francisco or go to the East Coast or go to Washington," she said, "which is fine, but I want to be here."

Rep. Jeff Reardon, D-Happy Valley, responded: "I'm going to go out on a limb and say the committee wants to keep you here."

According to university projections, the school will create 750 campus jobs. Some 250 graduate students will be involved in research at the center, officials estimated.

UO's request isn't without stiff competition.

Oregon State is requesting $69 million in state bonds to help expand its Cascades branch campus in Bend. Ed Ray, OSU's leader and the longest-tenured public university president in the state, has said that lawmakers should consider OSU-Cascades as a standalone campus.

Portland State University also is seeking $51 million for a new building on its campus. The school is building a nearly $100 million hub for public health, education and city services in collaboration with Oregon Health & Science University, the city of Portland and Portland Community College.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com
503-294-4026
@andrewtheen

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