On Jun. 25, 2018, the Robert J. DeArmond Trust gifted $10 million to support University of Oregon (UO) research. The gift provided a permanent research fund in the form of an endowment for the Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.

The gift will provide a permanent research fund in the form of an endowment for the Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The gift also supports efforts within the Knight Campus to recruit outstanding senior faculty members and accelerate research at the interface of bioengineering, neuroengineering and medicine.

Leona De Armond (1929-2017) was a 1951 UO graduate who grew up in Tillamook. She studied voice and piano and sang with the university choir.