EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The president of the University of Oregon says it’s time to try a new way of operating — and funding — his school.
Richard Lariviere is proposing creation of a $1.6 billion endowment, partly funded by state bonds. He plans to present the idea to the Oregon Legislature when it meets next year.
He says if the state sold 30-year bonds worth roughly $800 million, the annual debt service would be about the same as the $65 million the school will receive in state funding this year. The university would raise another $800 million in private gifts, creating the endowment. That money would be invested, with some of the earnings used to run the university. The state’s annual contribution would remain about what it is now, and would go to pay bond interest over the next 30 years.
