The University of Oregon mourns the death of Charles M. “Chuck” Lillis, an alumnus, trustee, and businessman who has left an indelible mark on the institution he loved through his unparalleled generosity, leadership, and vision.

Lillis chaired the university’s inaugural Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2022, a period of unprecedented growth for the UO that included construction of the first phase of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and the launch of the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health, both cornerstones of the university that Lillis and his wife, Gwen, helped develop.

At the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business where Chuck Lillis earned a doctoral degree in 1972, the Lillises made the lead gift for the construction of a new building in 2001, the Lillis Business Complex. Chuck Lillis cofounded the college’s finance and securities analysis center, which links students with the region’s financial, banking, and investment industry. Over the years, the Lillises contributed to UO athletics, scholarships, theater arts, and more, and in 2016 pledged $10 million to the volcanology center for faculty recruitment and endowed support. After Chuck Lillis’s retirement from the board, a section of East 13th Avenue running through the heart of the university’s Eugene campus was named Lillis Way.

“Chuck Lillis was truly a visionary leader whose commitment and service have left an enormous positive mark on the University of Oregon,” President Karl Scholz said. “His dedication and support for higher education was inspiring. I think all of us are keeping Gwen and the family in our thoughts and we are deeply grateful for Chuck’s legacy.”

A native of Overland Park, Kansas, and the first in his middle-class family to attend college, Lillis served in the US Army and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Washington. He arrived at the UO business school in 1970, a 29-year-old doctoral student in jeans, hiking boots, and a bushy red beard. “At first glance,” said Professor Emeritus Del Hawkins, then an assistant professor, “one did not envision an executive.”

Lillis didn’t envision himself as an executive either, and after earning a PhD in marketing in 1972, he became a professor of business at Washington State University. But it was clear from the start of his doctoral studies that Lillis loved the game of business—especially if the stakes were high, said Roger Best, a professor emeritus who entered the program with Lillis.

“Chuck is not an incremental person,” Best once said of Lillis. “He likes to play for something important.”

Realizing an obsession with what he called “complex business problems,” Lillis left the halls of academia for the business world. Throughout a career that included executive roles at Dupont, General Electric, and US West, Lillis had a knack for seeing connections across industries. His work in telecommunications led to the cofounding of MediaOne, a US West spinoff involved in wireless and broadband delivery over cable that was sold to AT&T in 2000 for $62.5 billion.

Lillis credited his education for much of his professional success, saying, “I learned a powerful, theoretical basis that I could use to understand almost every type of business.”

He proved equally adept in his understanding of the university.

Lillis was appointed to the UO’s inaugural trustee board in fall 2013, a transitional period that followed the UO’s separation from the Oregon University System and establishment of this independent governing body. Throughout a tenure that lasted nearly a decade, Lillis chaired the board at the request of his fellow trustees. It was a period of ascent for the university that included, in addition to the Knight Campus and the Ballmer Institute, a $3.2 billion fundraising campaign; an increase by nearly a third in research funding; the construction and renovation of labs, classrooms, and residence halls across the Eugene campus; and significant improvements in student diversity, retention, and graduation rates.

Lillis was a champion for the Knight Campus concept and he worked closely with UO leadership on proposals for support from the Knight family, culminating with their $500 million gift in 2016 to launch the state-of-the-art research campus and another $500 million contribution in 2021 for the second phase of the project. Lillis’s experience as a visionary business leader was instrumental in creating the Knight Campus organizational framework and keeping its focus on pushing the frontiers of science and translating researchers’ work into positive societal impact, said Bob Guldberg, vice president and Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.

Among Lillis’s many contributions to the university, one standing as a testament to his legacy is the business complex or Lillis Hall, one of the most iconic buildings on the Eugene campus.

Opened in 2003 after an extensive rebuild and refurbishing, the building features one of the world’s pioneering uses of photovoltaic solar glass. The building earned a silver LEED certification for its sustainability and efficiency and its striking architecture—emblazoned with a giant O in UO yellow—has made it a focal point of the university, prominently featured in promotional materials and even serving as the backdrop for ESPN’s College GameDay program.

The building was dedicated to Chuck and Gwen Lillis in recognition of their $14 million contribution to construction. A man of deep pride who cherished his connection to the university, Lillis shared a special moment after its opening, when his grandchildren visited the building bearing the family name.

“We had all of our grandchildren up here recently, all eight of them, and we were touring the campus,” Lillis said at the time. “One of our granddaughters who is 13 was standing at the Lillis building and she looked at it and said, ‘Papa, my name is on that building!’”

Lillis was also generous in sharing his expertise and experience with students. He and Gwen could often be found interacting with students and faculty in the business school, and it was not unusual to find Lillis working unassumingly on his laptop next to students in the building’s open atrium. He also served as a visiting professor and led a graduate-level course on the role of the CEO at large corporations, inviting top executives from leading companies to the university to share their knowledge, guidance, and lessons-learned with students. His advice to business students reflected his commitment to both education and practical experience.

“Chuck Lillis had a profound and positive impact across the university,” said Bruce Blonigen, Edward Maletis Dean of the Lundquist College of Business. “When our Lillis Business Complex opened in 2003, it literally put the University of Oregon on the map as a leading institution for business education. The building was more than an architectural masterpiece, it was a vote of confidence in our students and faculty. The number of business majors on campus rose rapidly as a result—as did the productivity, quality, and caliber of students.”

Lillis, who died September 10, is survived by Gwen Lillis and their family. Information will be forthcoming regarding a celebration of life, opportunities for remembrance, and the ability to make charitable contributions in lieu of flowers. The family requests privacy and in lieu of reaching out to them said thoughts can be sent via email to gwenlillis@lillisoffices.com or mailed to PO Box 1479, Castle Rock, Colorado, 80104.

In a joint statement, the Lillis Family Office and the Lillis Foundation said, “We understand that this is a significant loss for all of us who had the privilege of knowing and working with Chuck Lillis. Chuck was a visionary leader whose commitment, passion, and leadership greatly impacted the success of so many, both personally and professionally. As we mourn his loss, we also celebrate his life and tremendous contributions.”

—By Monique Danziger and Matt Cooper

Leaders on Chuck Lillis:

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Chuck Lillis. Chuck was the right man at the right time to lead the Board of Trustees. He deeply loved the university, he understood the importance of academic excellence, and he believed that the state of Oregon deserved to have a world-class academic institution. It was because of Chuck’s ambition for the university and his tireless advocacy and work on its behalf, that we have the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health, two research-oriented institutes that changed the UO forever. I will always cherish that I had the opportunity to work so closely with him.”

—Former UO President Michael H. Schill

“Three really visible things Chuck did: Right across the street, the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The PDX campus and the Ballmer Institute. And the successful [trustee board] transition, first to Ginevra Ralph and then to Steve Holwerda, that has led to continued strong governance of the university. Chuck led this board with compassion. He pushed the university and our president to dream bigger and he really left the university in a much better place for our students, our faculty and for the state of Oregon, for which I am grateful. Our hearts go out to the Lillis family, and in particular to Gwen, who is also a great friend of this university.”

—Marcia Aaron, Vice Chair, UO Board of Trustees

“Chuck played a pivotal role in the visioning for the Knight Campus by challenging us to think big and not be limited by what others thought was possible. He then championed our efforts and cheered us on at every step of the way, including chairing the Knight Campus External Advisory Board meeting last year.”

—Bob Guldberg, Vice President and Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive Director