Lorry Lokey, UO benefactor, receives honorary doctorate in Israel

The UO community congratulates benefactor Lorry I. Lokey, who recently received an honorary doctoral degree from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

Lokey was among seven scientists, inventors and philanthropists to receive honorary degrees from the school.

Lokey, a native Oregonian and Stanford University graduate, founded Business Wire in 1961 and sold it to Berkshire Hathaway in 2006. He has since invested more than $700 million to advance education and scientific research.

Taken together, Lokey’s support for academic programs at the University of Oregon alone totals nearly $140 million.

Currently, the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library is under construction thanks to a lead gift made by Lokey in memory of Price, his friend and a former UO vice president for advancement.

In 2007, the UO named its entire science complex for Lokey in appreciation for his transformational gift of $74.6 million to advance teaching and research in several disciplines, especially the sciences.

Lokey also established the UO Fund for Faculty Excellence and provided significant support toward the total renovation of the historic education quad, expansion of the music building and creation of the UO’s state-of-the-art underground nanoscience research facility, the Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories.

—By Melody Ward Leslie, University Advancement