Oregon150 is building a bridge to the future as the University of Oregon’s newest fundraising initiative.
Oregon150 continues the momentum of the UO's previous $3.2 billion campaign, builds on the success of its signature PathwayOregon scholarship program, and is inspired by a visionary gift from donors Connie and Steve Ballmer in 2022 to establish the Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health and fund scholarships.Through Oregon150, we will address two strategic goals -- student success and capital projects. Our aim is to raise half a billion dollars through December 2026 to help our students and campuses thrive, ensuring that the UO continues to be a world-class institution making a difference in our communities, our state, across the nation, and around the world.With your support, we will pursue university-wide innovation and fulfill our core mission to prepare students to be the next generation of transformational leaders.
“Oregon150 is about showing you—our alumni, donors, and friends of the university—the impact you are making at the University of Oregon. There is nothing more central to higher education than student success, and investing in a student's higher education experience is, at its core, one of the best investments you can make. Your gifts are making a difference in preparing the next generation of Ducks to make the world a better place.”
–Joseph Buck Vice President, UO Advancement
Frequently Asked Questions
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Oregon150 was announced during President Scholz’s investiture on May 30, 2024, as the university’s newest fundraising initiative. Centered around two strategic goals—student success and capital projects—the aim is to raise half a billion dollars through December 31, 2026. Oregon150 builds the bridge to the university’s comprehensive campaign which will launch in 2026 along with the UO’s 150th anniversary.
Student success is at the heart of the initiative, including in the following four areas:
Access: The student success priority aims at closing equity gaps, increasing affordability by decreasing student debt, and offering more support through recruitment, retention, and graduation. Signature central scholarships (such as PathwayOregon, the Presidential scholarships, and Diversity Excellence) and identity-based scholarships which support our diverse student body (such as Dreamer’s and Home Flight scholars) will be pivotal to the initiative.
Academic Programs and Research: This priority will strengthen unit-based innovation, creativity, and education funds for deans and faculty to enhance students’ experiential learning and discovery. This is critical to providing the rich academic experience the UO promises students. .
Student Support Services: The UO remains devoted to educating the whole person and recognizing the social, cultural, physical, mental, and economic factors that impact students. Oregon150 can ensure the availability and accessibility of wrap-around services that foster an environment of belonging and nurturing to maximize student learning and achievement.
Career Preparation and Networking: This priority bolsters career preparation through experiential learning opportunities such as study abroad, internships, research, and conference attendance, and increases a student’s ability to gain practical skills and build crucial professional networks.
Capital projects bolstering campus growth and expansion is another priority, which includes two key areas:
The new NE Portland Campus, which opened to students in fall, 2023. The campus is undergoing renovations and will eventually be home to academic, research, and administrative programs, student housing, an outdoor amphitheater, and onsite dining and recreation opportunities. Several UO programs have already moved to the UO Portland, NE campus—including strategic communications, school psychology, immersive media, and the school of law for third-year students. The NE Portland campus is the gateway for many experiential and economic growth opportunities, like the Portland Internship Experience.
Several UO programs have already moved to the UO Portland, NE campus—including strategic communications, school psychology, immersive media, and the school of law for third-year students. The NE Portland campus is the gateway for many experiential and economic growth opportunities, like the Portland Internship Experience. UO Portland renovations are expected to be completed in fall or winter of 2024.
The campus will also be home to a new Child Behavioral Health building with an expected completion date of fall 2027. This building will house the Ballmer Institute and the Prevention Science Institute. The Child Behavioral Health Building will facilitate collaboration to accelerate discovery and reach across schools and communities to address the national crisis in child behavioral health. Overall, the building will serve as an innovation hub for training and research in child behavioral health and a welcoming space for children, families, and members of the community to receive services and learn new strategies to support wellness in their children through community outreach and educational offerings.
The Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact - Building 2, which will:
Double the campus’ capacity for research and development of new biomedical technologies with additional room for its expanding academic programs.
Provide student maker space for students to learn, prototype and test their inventions. The new building is expected to house twenty to twenty-three research groups focused on bioengineering and biomedical computational science.
Include a Biofabrication and Bioanalysis Core Facility that will allow researchers to use high throughput technology to understand and then develop synthetic cells, tissues, and organs. It enables the development of new personalized medical tools that could be used to monitor health, regenerate new tissue, and treat cancer and other ailments.
Oregon150 was developed to recognize the existing programs that serve students and how our philanthropic partners can help us meet measured student success goals. The capital projects were selected based on emerging institutional needs which allow for the expansion of programs and resources available to students.
The UO began counting gifts toward Oregon150 on July 1, 2021. We count outright gifts, pledge commitments, and deferred gifts related to Student Success and Capital projects.
