Charles M. Lillis, PhD ’72, has been named a 2020 Influential Leader in the area of technology by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB is the premier accreditation body for business schools worldwide, and this year’s Influential Leaders class represents 25 outstanding business school graduates from AACSB-accredited schools around the world.
“It is our privilege to amplify the stories of business school graduates like Charles Lillis who are serving as a force for good in the world,” said Tom Robinson, AACSB president and CEO.
Lillis’s support of the Lundquist College and the University of Oregon is unmatched.
“For decades, Chuck and Gwen Lillis have shown up for education—both as board leaders and with game-changing investments,” said Sarah E. Nutter, Edward Maletis Dean of the Lundquist College of Business, which is housed in the Lillis Business Complex. “Chuck’s commitment to education is visionary and his achievements in business technology merit awe.”
As CEO and chairman of MediaOne, Lillis was an early predictor that cable lines would also provide internet and phone services. That pivot in business priorities led to billions in revenue for MediaOne, ultimately culminating in the sale to Comcast in 2000.
In 2001, Lillis and his wife Gwen made the lead gift for the first Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED)–certified business school building in the United States. The Lillis Business Complex opened in 2003 and remains a crown jewel of the University of Oregon campus. Students from all majors use the student-centered spaces for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Along with supporting the Lillis Business Complex, Lillis was a cofounder of the Cameron Center for Finance and Securities Analysis at the Lundquist College of Business. These strategic investments sent the college on the path it is blazing today, as a leader in accounting research, sports business, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business practices.
The Lillises have also funded endowed faculty positions for expert researchers in the UO’s Department of Earth Sciences. These prominent volcanologists will elevate the University of Oregon’s research capabilities to a truly global impact.
A true pioneer in business, philanthropy, and civic leadership, Chuck Lillis invests in future entrepreneurs, future innovations, and the future of our economy every day.
Lillis helped spearhead the current self-governance model for the University of Oregon to provide greater local control over student outcomes, faculty growth, and institutional priorities. And in his role on as the chair of the University of Oregon Board of Trustees, Lillis is helping to set and guide policy for education at the University of Oregon campus-wide.
By applying his leadership to not only benefit business students but all students at the UO, his policy and decision-making is helping to ensure equal access to education for all.
We are grateful and inspired by everything Chuck and Gwen have done for the University of Oregon. The Lillis legacy will extend well beyond the bricks and mortar they have so generously provided, passing on that pioneering Lillis spirit to others long into the future.
—University of Oregon Communications