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