In the News

KLCC
Catalyst Center for Youth Behavioral Health launches September 1
KLCC reports the Catalyst Center opens September 1, with three partner universities to be selected in early winter. (Includes audio.)
Banner with a green overlay over an image of UO Portland campus and the words "The Register-Guard" in yellow text
$125 million gift launches the Catalyst Center for Youth Behavioral Health
The Register-Guard covers the gift and the Ballmer Institute's plan to expand its training model to 18 universities nationwide (subscription required).
Connie and Steve Ballmer
Ballmer Group gives $125 million to take UO's child behavioral health model national
Three partner universities will each receive $30 million to build bachelor's-level child behavioral health programs based on the Ballmer Institute's model, Forbes reports.
Portland Business Journal
UO's child behavioral health training model heads nationwide
The Portland Business Journal covers the Ballmer Group's $125 million gift and the plan to replicate the Ballmer Institute's child behavioral health training model nationwide.
Banner with a green overlay over an image of UO Portland campus and the words "OregonLive" in yellow text
$125 million to take child behavioral health training national
The Oregonian breaks down where the money goes: three partner universities, up to $30 million each, with a network of 18 as the long-term goal.
A group of students walk together on a sidewalk outside a modern campus building with large windows and a green lawn.
Ballmer Institute launches Catalyst Center with $125M grant
The innovation hub will help partner universities build the country's first bachelor's degree-level child behavioral health profession.
Person holding a smartphone displaying an AI therapist chat app.
Ballmer Institute cited as a model as 8 million kids turn to AI for mental health help
A new JAMA Pediatrics study finds nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adolescents sought mental health advice from AI chatbots in 2025—with experts pointing to school-based programs like the Ballmer Institute as a real-world alternative, according to Becker's Hospital Review.
A row of graduates in green caps and gowns cheer and wave green and gold tinsel streamers indoors at a commencement ceremony. They hold diplomas and wear gold honor stoles, with yellow flower arrangements lining the floor in front of them and an audience visible in the background.
Ballmer Institute graduates first class of youth mental health workers
The University of Oregon's Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health marks an early milestone in its school-based model for expanding the youth mental health workforce, reports The Oregonian.
Architectural rendering of a brightly lit, indoor community space with greenery and students. An Oregon "O" is visible in the background.
Tykeson Child Behavioral Health Building will give Ballmer Institute its first permanent home

A new $83 million mass timber building at UO Portland will house the Ballmer Institute and Prevention Science Institute, with space for up to 300 students annually alongside a behavioral health clinic, telehealth center, and free services for children and families across Oregon. Via the Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon.

Thirteen people pose with shovels at a groundbreaking ceremony, with a large yellow excavator behind them under a clear blue sky.
Lead gift propels Child Behavioral Health Building forward
The $15 million investment names the Tykeson Child Behavioral Health Building at the UO Portland campus and supports systemic change in youth behavioral health.
Rendering of a modern campus building with floor-to-ceiling windows and rust-orange paneling, surrounded by students walking, biking, and sitting on a grassy lawn under autumn trees.
UO breaks ground on $83 million Ballmer Institute expansion
OPB covers the groundbreaking for the Tykeson Child Behavioral Health Building, an 54,000-square-foot expansion that will grow the Ballmer Institute's capacity to 300 students and add a no-cost youth behavioral health clinic.
A Ballmer Institute student wearing a University of Oregon lanyard meets with a young person at a table in a school library.
Ballmer Institute featured in Becker's Hospital Review for building a new behavioral health workforce
Becker's Hospital Review highlights how the Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health is helping develop a new pipeline of bachelor's-level providers to meet the growing demand for youth mental health care.
Anne Libby, a Ballmer Institute intern, smiles while standing at a clinic reception desk wearing a UO lanyard and name badge.
First Ballmer Institute graduates step Into careers in youth mental health
For Anne Libby, one of 17 students in the Ballmer Institute's inaugural graduating class, the journey comes full circle — she'll start her career at the same Portland-area clinic that cared for her as a child.
Lisa Redekop and Les Koski standing in front of a Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health sign.
Ballmer Institute donors fund early internships in children's behavioral health
A $100,000 gift from Lisa Redekop and Les Koski sends Ballmer Institute students into real-world behavioral health settings sooner.
Ron and Chris Sauer smile together in their Portland home, standing in front of a vibrant abstract painting near a staircase.
Portland donors invest in the future of children's behavioral health
Ron and Chris Sauer's lifetime of opening their home to kids in need has led to a leadership gift supporting the Ballmer Institute's new Child Behavioral Health Building on the UO Portland campus.