Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin announced a historic $3 billion gift to further elevate CMU in Pittsburgh and launch Carnegie Mellon University Miami. CMU Miami will be a new campus organized around societal challenges, designed to prepare future leaders for a rapidly changing world while accelerating research and discovery in areas of critical importance to society.
Griffin’s $3 billion gift will consist of $1 billion to support CMU’s Pittsburgh campus, split evenly between flexible support for the university’s highest priorities and a $500 million investment in its top-ranked School of Computer Science, which will be renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science. An additional $2 billion will support the launch of CMU Miami.
Together, these investments reflect Griffin’s belief in Carnegie Mellon’s ability to attract exceptional talent, advance transformative research and prepare graduates to solve consequential problems and lead with impact. Griffin will also join Carnegie Mellon’s Board of Trustees, further solidifying his dedication to the university.
CMU Miami will invert the traditional higher education model by organizing learning and inquiry around societal challenges rather than academic majors. It will be entirely designed and built — from first blueprints to final beam — to drive revolutionary breakthroughs that address society’s defining challenges.
At launch, CMU Miami will focus on grand challenge areas spanning human health and biological discovery; national security and strategic capabilities; energy and climate resilience; and advanced manufacturing and industrial transformation. The campus will also serve as a platform for curricular innovation, new approaches to teaching and hands-on learning.
“We are deeply grateful to Ken Griffin for his extraordinary vision, partnership and belief in what Carnegie Mellon can achieve,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. “Throughout our history, CMU has anticipated moments of profound technological change and responded with new ways of thinking and solving problems. Artificial intelligence represents one of the defining intellectual developments of our time, and it demands that we rethink how we educate students, conduct research and partner with others. Together, we have an opportunity to extend the very qualities that have long distinguished Carnegie Mellon — our agility, creativity, interdisciplinary culture and relentless focus on impact — to build a new model for higher education that meets the urgency of this moment.”
“Carnegie Mellon University has made profound contributions to America’s preeminence in science, engineering, technology, and the arts and humanities,” said Ken Griffin. “Since its founding, Carnegie Mellon has fostered remarkable talent, pioneered scientific breakthroughs, and expanded the frontiers of research — shaping global leaders and innovators.
“The opportunity to bring Carnegie Mellon to Miami places our city at the heart of humanistic and scientific advancement and amplifies the University’s international reach and impact. It is a tremendous privilege to be part of this historic moment. CMU Miami represents a generational opportunity to build a new center of research and intellectual life—one that will attract exceptional students, scholars, and researchers from across the globe and rank among the world’s most important academic institutions. Building upon the University’s record of excellence in educating and inspiring the next generation, CMU Miami will cultivate the talent, knowledge, and expertise to launch new enterprises, contribute to Miami’s economy and community, and advance the prosperity of our nation.”
Once complete, the state-of-the-art campus will support more than 3,500 undergraduate, master’s and PhD students, nearly 300 faculty and over 600 staff members. Construction is slated to begin in 2027. The current plan, pending regulatory approvals, sees the first students enrolling in 2028.
Located on more than 35 acres in Wynwood—in the heart of Miami—the campus will support a comprehensive student experience and an interdisciplinary environment designed for learning, research and collaboration. Plans include space for industry research labs and venture studios, creating opportunities for students, faculty, industry and community partners to work alongside one another. The campus itself will serve as a living laboratory for new ideas, while creating opportunities for collaboration across CMU’s locations.
Griffin’s anchor gift of $3 billion to support CMU and build CMU Miami is the largest-ever gift by an individual in the history of higher education. It is also Griffin’s largest-ever gift, reflecting the priorities of Griffin Catalyst, his civic engagement initiative, which finds and funds creative solutions to drive impact at scale and transform lives.
