Phil Knight has donated $500 million to the University of Oregon's new science program, the school announced late Monday evening.

The gift is the largest ever for a public flagship institution, according to the Oregon release.

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact is "designed to fast-track scientific discoveries and the process of turning those discoveries into innovations" that will improve the quality of life for people who reside in the state of Oregon and beyond.

The release says the Knight Campus will help change the landscape in higher education in Oregon.

“This act of philanthropy from Phil and Penny Knight is breathtaking,” said Michael H. Schill, president and professor of law in the school's release.

"This is a seminal moment for the University of Oregon, an inflection point that will shape the trajectory of the university for the next century and beyond,” Schill said. “Thanks to this generous gift, we will aggressively recruit and hire talented new researchers to join our world-class faculty, amplifying what we do best—interdisciplinary scientific research. Equally important, the University of Oregon now has the resources to develop the infrastructure and support networks necessary to ensure that our best ideas and discoveries are quickly tested, refined, and developed into innovations that improve the human condition.”

***Sign up for VIP access at DuckTerritory.com and get two more months free.***

The Knight campus will go in three new 70,000-square-foot buildings that will be built along Franklin Boulevard where the current UO science complex resides.

You can read more on the donation and the new program here.