Stanford Pockets Largest Donation From One Person in Its History — $400 Million

Stanford University has received its largest cash donation from an individual in its history — $400 million from Philip H. Knight, the Nike co-founder. The gift will be part of a $750-million endowment to establish a “graduate-level scholarship designed to prepare a new generation of global leaders,” according to a statement from the university.

Mr. Knight has gained fame for the several large gifts that he and his wife have made to the University of Oregon — $100 million in 2008, $125 million in 2012, and $500 million in 2013, a donation that the university matched.

The Stanford program will annually admit 100 students whose graduate education will be funded for three years with the option of further study, according to the university. The first scholars will start their studies in 2018.

The large donation comes at a time of increased scrutiny of elite universities’ mammoth endowments. Last summer a hedge-fund mogul, John A. Paulson, was assailed for donating $400 million to Harvard, while Yale drew criticism for paying $480 million to the equity-fund managers of its endowment. This month two congressional committees sent a letter to 56 colleges, including Stanford, demanding information on how they use their endowments.