Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Established2016
DirectorJohn L. Hennessy
StudentsUp to 100
Location
Stanford, CA
,
USA
AffiliationsStanford University
Websiteknight-hennessy.stanford.edu

Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a graduate-level scholarship program for study at Stanford University. Established in 2016, the program was founded with the aim of preparing students to address complex global issues. Scholars receive funding support to pursue any graduate degree at Stanford.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars was founded in 2016 with a $400 million pledge from Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike and a Stanford alum.[1] Knight’s donation, which was one of the largest ever made to an American university at the time, was combined with $350 million in additional gifts from other Stanford alumni.[2] Named for Knight and John Hennessy, Stanford’s 10th president,[3] the program was founded to prepare graduate students to address global issues like climate change and poverty.[1]

Scholars receive full funding to pursue any graduate degree at Stanford and participate in additional opportunities for leadership training, mentorship, and experiential learning across multiple disciplines.

The Knight-Hennessy Scholarship program enrolled its first cohort of 51 graduate students in 2018, with participating students hailing from 21 countries and pursuing 31 different degree programs.[4] A cohort of new Knight-Hennessy Scholars has been selected in each subsequent year. Notable alumni of the program include Alma Cooper, Andrew Leon Hanna, Aya Mouallem, and Maike van Niekerk.

  1. ^ a b Stanley, Alessandra (24 February 2016). "Philip Knight of Nike to Give $400 Million to Stanford Scholars". New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. ^ Song, Jason (24 February 2016). "Thanks to Nike's Phil Knight, Stanford is planning an ambitious graduate scholars program". LA Times. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  3. ^ Germano, Sara (24 February 2016). "Nike Founder Phil Knight Donates $400 Million to Stanford". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Knight-Hennessy Scholars program announces pioneer cohort of future leaders". news.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-20.