Creed Carter Black, Leader Who Raised Knight Foundation’s Ambitions

Age at death: 86

Major philanthropy job: Creed Carter Black was president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation from 1988 to 1998.

How he made his mark: He raised the ambitions of the foundation after its assets more than doubled in the years just before he took office. The foundation grew into one of the nation’s biggest because of the deaths of the journalism moguls John Knight, whose estate left more than $428-million to the fund by 1991, and his brother James, whose $200-million bequest to the organization was settled by 1995. Mr. Black created grant-making programs in the arts and education and expanded the foundation’s grants to tackle issues of national importance, not just local ones, as previously.

Signature effort: Mr. Black’s most prominent legacy is the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, says Alberto Ibargüen, who is now chief executive of the Knight Foundation. Mr. Black established the commission in 1989 to keep college sports programs in line with their institutions’ educational mission.

Other accomplishments: Before he joined the foundation, Mr. Black had a long career in journalism. Among other things, he served as editor and publisher of the Lexington Herald-Leader, in Kentucky, which won a Pulitzer Prize for a series that exposed cash payoffs to basketball players in violation of NCAA regulations.

Impact on philanthropy: The establishment of the college-sports commission “shows what focused, determined, tenacious commitment to a principle and to a cause can do, and it is the kind of thing that philanthropy can do in a way that business can’t,” Mr. Ibargüen said. “Philanthropy has the privilege, and I would say the obligation, of investing in principle and experimenting with ways of achieving the goal that might not be realistic for anybody else. I think Creed understood that.”