The Papé family — the Oregonians behind The Papé Group, a Eugene-based heavy equipment supplier — has donated $5 million to the University of Oregon to create the Papé Family Innovation Center.
The center is within the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and is aimed at supporting biotech startups launched in Oregon, according to the University of Oregon.
Several members of the family are alumni of UO and the family has given to the college of business and the athletics organizations. This is the largest single gift the family has given to any organization, according to the university statement.
“My father attended the UO, then Randy and I, then our children and their wives, Jenifer Papé and Keri Papé,” said Susie Papé, board chair of The Papé Group in a written statement. “We’re so pleased that the university is taking bold steps toward a bright future. Other people are noticing, including faculty members who want to he here, students who want to attend, and donors who want to give. They all want to be a part of it.”
The Papé Family Innovation Center will focus on taking research from the lab and into products or companies in areas including surgical devices, medical therapies and targeted treatments for disease. Entrepreneurs will have access to wet lab space and other facilities needed to prove ideas and research. They will also have access to a network of advisers and mentors through the university.
The center will also offer facilities for existing companies to come to UO for collaboration or satellite outposts, according to the university.
The center will be opened in multiple phases. The first two facilities are located within the existing Knight campus building, which was opened in 2020. Another facility is slated to be a part of the Knight Campus Building 2, a 180,000-square-foot facility. Construction of Building 2, a multi-story bioengineering and applied science research facility, is expected in 2023, according to the university.
“We’re immensely grateful to the Papés for their investment in these incredible new innovation facilities. Given all they’ve done for economic development in Eugene — and throughout Oregon and the Northwest — it’s a fitting gift,” said Robert Guldberg, vice president and Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive director of the Knight Campus, in a written statement. “By speeding up the innovation cycle, the Papés are supporting one of the major pillars of the Knight Campus, and helping to drive the Oregon economy.”
