Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) is a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate scholarship program. Each Knight-Hennessy scholar receives up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare scholars to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world. John L. Hennessy is the visionary behind Knight-Hennessy Scholars and continues to serve as the program’s inaugural Shriram Family Director.
Learn more about Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Mission
Knight-Hennessy Scholars' mission is to select and support a multicultural and multidisciplinary cohort of scholars, and prepare them for leadership roles in academia, industry, government, nonprofits, and the community at large. The biggest challenges facing our world today are growing more complex. Addressing them requires a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach led by individuals who have the traits and skills necessary to tackle these problems. Knight-Hennessy scholars are courageous leaders who effect positive change at scale.
How KHS started
The earliest seeds for Knight-Hennessy Scholars began to form in the spring of 2012, when Hennessy was on sabbatical from his role as president of Stanford University. He spent most of that time reading books on higher education and reflecting on the state of the world. This informed the vision for Knight-Hennessy Scholars: to cultivate a growing global community of visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders committed to creating positive change in the world.
On September 1, 2016, Hennessy relinquished the office of university president, closing a 16-year tenure in that office, and immediately turned his attention to announcing the creation of Knight-Hennessy Scholars.
Knight-Hennessy Scholars was founded in 2016 by Hennessy, who served as Stanford University’s 10th president from 2000 to 2016, and Phil Knight, MBA ’62, philanthropist, American businessman and co-founder of Nike Inc. They recognized an opportunity for greater leadership across a variety of sectors in our society, and created a graduate-level scholarship to address this systemic issue. Stanford’s incredible academic strengths and bold entrepreneurial culture uniquely positioned it to create a high-quality program.
Mr. Knight and numerous other benefactors provided founding gifts totaling more than $750 million, which makes Knight-Hennessy Scholars the largest fully-endowed, university-wide graduate fellowship in the world.
Leadership
Knight-Hennessy scholars participate in up to three years of programming that complements their graduate studies and prepares them to take on leadership roles in academia, industry, government, nonprofits, and the community at large.
Community
A new cohort joins each year, adding to a diverse community of scholars across disciplines, nationalities, perspectives, and backgrounds. Scholars learn together, collaborate on impactful projects, and develop lifelong friendships.
Funding
Scholars receive a fellowship for up to three years of tuition, depending upon their degree length. In addition, scholars receive a stipend for living and academic expenses, and a travel stipend for one annual trip to and from Stanford.
“A big part of our program is, and always has been, the scholars themselves and their individual and collective potential to change the world.”
John L. Hennessy, Knight-Hennessy Scholars Co-founder and Shriram Family Director