Nike Inc. Founder and Chairman Philip Knight (MBA ‘62) announced Tuesday he will be donating $105 million to the Graduate School of Business. The gift, believed to be the largest ever given to a business school, will primarily go toward a new $275 million campus being built for the school.

The Board of Trustees gave approval to the campus, June 15, which will have eight buildings around three quadrangles. The school plans to break ground by 2008, once the necessary balance of funds has been collected, with completion expected by 2010 or 2011.

Knight’s donation comes just weeks after the approval of changes to the School of Business curriculum. Beginning in fall 2007, the school will have a more individualized approach to students, as well as more classes, which the new Knight Management Center will facilitate. To be built at 651 Serra St., across from the Schwab Residential Center, the complex will feature a 450-seat auditorium, classrooms, study rooms, faculty spaces, a dining center and career management center. It will be 85,000 square feet larger than the current business school campus.

Also from Knight’s donation, $5 million will be used toward faculty endowment.

“Phil’s commitment is the linchpin which will allow us to create a physical environment to support new methods of teaching management and leadership while also inviting more collaboration from across Stanford,” said Robert Joss, the Philip H. Knight Professor and dean of the school of business, in a news release.

Knight said he is excited to give back as the school he is an alumnus of takes large steps forward.

“Stanford Business School was an important part of my life,” Knight said in a statement. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to give back to the school and help it continue to push the boundaries of excellence in management education.”