Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2004)
Men’s and women’s basketball teams kick off regular season today I 5A Oregon Daily Emerald An independent newspaper www.dailyemerald.com Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue 61 | Friday, November 19, 2004 Phil Knight to resign as CEO of Nike Knight, one of the University's top donors, will step down from his CEO post in December but will continue to hold his chairman position BY PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Worldwide athletic-goods giant Nike, Inc. announced Thursday that University alumnus and current Chairman and Chief Ex ecutive Officer Philip H. Knight will step down as CEO, effective Dec. 28. Knight, the top donor to the University in recent years, will retain his position as chairman of the Board of Directors when he is replaced by William D. Perez next month. The Knight family helped finance the $27.4 million renovation of the University library, which was completed in 1994. In 1996, Knight also donated $10 million to build the William W. Knight Law Center — named af ter his father, who graduated from the Univer sity’s law school in 1932 — as well as $15 mil lion more to finance endowed chairs and professorships, according to the University. He has also been a strong supporter of the University’s Athletics Department and has contributed to the expansion of Autzen Stadium and the Ed Moshofsky Sports Center con struction. In addition, he is a principal donor for the proposed new basketball arena. Knight still owns about 28 percent of the voting shares of Nike Class B stock and 92 percent of the non-vot ing Class A stock, according to docu ments filed with the Securities and Ex change Commission and reported by The Associated Press. Knight’s combined salary and bonus es for this year were nearly $3.7 million, up from nearly $2.5 million last year, ac cording to the AP. Nike has become a $12 billion global business, selling shoes, sports apparel and equipment. Perez, 57, has been president and chief ex ecutive officer of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., the makers of Windex, Pledge and other KNIGHT, page 8A Knight (below) is a University graduate who revolutionized the world of athletics through groundbreaking branding and merchandising. Photo illustration by Elliott Asbury and Steven R. Neuman In Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman meets undergraduate student Phil Knight, then a middle-distance runner on his team. 2 After receiving his MBA, Knight travels the world and stops in Japan. He contacts the Onitsuka Tiger company and strikes a deal. On the spot, Knight names his company Blue Ribbon Sports. Bowertpan begins experimenting with soffspiked shoe soles by pouring liquid rubber into his wife's waffle Iron. The concept spawns the 'waffte-soied' shoe that puts the company on the map. Jeff Johnson, Nike's first employee, dreams of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The name beats out Knight's idea of calling the company 'Dimension 6.' THE BIRTH OF NIKE | Knight drafts a research paper while studying at Standford. The business model touts merchandised, high-performance athletic shoes exported from Japan. The first 200 pai Ribbon Sports iir of lie, Blue r’ shoes arrives. Bowerman and Knight incorporate * BRS to replace Blue Ribbon Sports, The shoes use a foam cushion heel we created by Bowerman. Carolyn Davidson, graphic design student at Portland State University and friend of Knight, is paid $35 for creating the Swoosh logo. IN BRIEF Israeli teens speak on draft Two young men who were impris oned for refusing to serve in the Israeli military will speak about the impact of a possible U.S. draft on Friday. Noam Bahat and Shimri Zamaret, who were among five high school “re fuseniks” released from prison in Sep tember, spent about 640 days in confine ment because they refused mandatory military service. The UO Cultural Forum and the Com mittee for Countering Military Recruitment will present the pair. Bahat and Zamaret will speak at 5:30 p.m. at Cozmic Pizza, located at West 8th Avenue and Charnel ton Street in Eugene. They will also present in Columbia 150 at 7:30 p.m. the same night. Admission is free. — Parker Howell Oregon vs. Oregon State Reser Stadium | November 20 4 p.m. PST, FSN Letter-writing campaign demands tuition freeze The letters collected by ASitO also urge Gov. Kulongoski to support a tuition equity hill BY MORIAH BALINGrr NEWS REPORTER The Oregon Student Association, the Ore gon Students of Color Coalition and the ASUO sponsored a letter-writing campaign Thursday to urge Gov. Ted Kulongoski to support a tu ition freeze and a tuition equity bill. A tuition freeze would mandate that tuition rates stay at current levels without cutting pro grams or services. According to the OSA, such a freeze would cost an additional $55 million. The ASUO collected 157 letters, surpassing its original goal of 60 letters. OSA Director John Wykoff said that letter writing is one of the more effective cam paigning tactics. “The legislature knows if you took the time to write a letter then you’re probably going to take time to vote,” he said. ASUO State Affairs Coordinator Amy Du Four said letter-writing has benefits for a stu dent’s psyche. “It makes students feel better too because they’re able to voice their concerns and their personal experiences,” she said. University student Melinda vonReis-Iglesias shared her struggle to cover rising tuition rates in her letter to the governor. “It’s becoming difficult not only to pay for tuition but for books and living expenses, too,” she said. The second issue students addressed in their letters was the tuition equity bill. The newest tu ition equity bill would allow students who went to high school in Oregon for three years to pay in-state tuition, regardless of their immigration status. Currently, students who are not citizens have to pay out-of-state tuition. The Oregon Stu dent Association reported that such a bill could Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer Writing to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, junior art major Julia Damon joins other students in urging the governor to support a tuition freeze and a tuition equity bill. affect anywhere from 20 to 300 students statewide. Last year, a similar bill failed when the Senate and the House disagreed with it. ASUO Programs Finance Committee mem ber Jael Anker-Lagos said she’s heard of non citizen students who could not pay out-of state tuition. “I’ve heard of students who have dropped out of high school because they know they can’t continue their education,” she said. Wykoff said the financial situation for these students is often especially dire. “These are often families that are having trouble getting by,” he said. “These (students) are people with promising futures that are told to stop hoping.” Anker-Lagos added that such a bill would ben efit the entire student community, as it would increase the number of students who are not citi zens on campus. “(Students’) environment and culture would be enhanced,” she said. Wykoff said he was hopeful about the TUITION, page 4A Student Senate votes for group funding increases The tentative increases would raise the money the three campus programs can give to other groups BY PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Students may shell out an ad ditional $14 per term in inciden tal fees next year if budget pre dictions for the three major fee-funded groups approved by the Student Senate Wednesday night hold true. In an emotionally charged, three-hour-long session, the Sen ate approved tentative funding in creases for the Athletic Depart ment Finance Committee, Programs Finance Committee and EMU Board of Directors. The current benchmarks, which provide a rough idea of how much money the three programs can give to other groups during the budget process this winter, would require each stu dent to spend about $195 per term in incidental fees next year. Last year, the Senate “bought down” the fee $4 per term by us ing surplus funds, but this year there’s no buy down and students have to pay what they were origi nally projected to pay last year. The other part of the increase, $10, is because of increased costs. Athletic Department Finance Committee After lengthy debate, the Sen ate voted 8-7-1 to pass a 5.3 percent funding increase for the ADFC, totaling $72,602. The ADFC bargains with the Athletic Department to buy stu dent tickets. The ADFC initially asked for a 7 percent increase of about $95,889 to maintain its “current service level” and fulfill a 10 year ticket contract for athletic games with the Athletic Depart ment signed four years ago, Senator Kevin Day said. Students currently pay 46.8 percent of “fair market price” of tickets, but the contract stipulates they pay 50 percent, Day said. Day said ticket prices are raised on a three-year schedule, with an increase likely slated for next year. He said if ticket prices remain constant, the current level of funding would adequately meet the 50 percent stipulation for the first time, but a hike in ticket prices would require ADFC to have a larger budget. Although Vice President Mena Ravassipour recommend ed the 7 percent increase on be half of the ASUO Executive, many senators questioned the need for the increase. PFC member Mason Quiroz SENATE, page 3A
