Ken Griffin is donating $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, the largest individual gift in U.S. higher education. $1 billion will bolster CMU's Pittsburgh campus — including $500 million to rename and fund the School of Computer Science — and $2 billion will launch a new 35-acre CMU Miami campus in Wynwood focused on health, national security, energy resilience and advanced manufacturing. Construction is planned to begin in 2027, with the first students arriving in 2028. Griffin will join CMU’s Board of Trustees and has been a major donor to the university and South Florida causes.
Ken Griffin Gives $3 Billion to Carnegie Mellon — Largest Individual Gift in U.S. Higher Education
A close-up view shows several ten-dollar bills fanned out, featuring Alexander Hamiltons portrait. (Credit: Image via Shutterstock)
Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin is donating $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, the university announced Wednesday — the largest single donation ever given to an individual U.S. institution of higher education.
The gift is divided into two major components. $1 billion will support Carnegie Mellon's Pittsburgh campus, with $500 million designated as flexible funding for university priorities and $500 million dedicated to the School of Computer Science, which will be renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science. The remaining $2 billion will establish Carnegie Mellon University Miami, a new 35-acre campus in Wynwood.
What CMU Miami Will Do
CMU Miami is being designed to organize teaching and research around pressing societal challenges rather than traditional majors. The campus will prioritize:
- Human health and biological discovery
- National security
- Energy and climate resilience
- Advanced manufacturing
University officials said construction is slated to begin in 2027, with the first students expected to enroll in 2028. At full scale the campus is projected to serve more than 3,500 students, nearly 300 faculty members and over 600 staff.
Context and Philanthropic Background
Griffin will join Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees as part of the gift agreement. His relationship with the university predates this pledge; Citadel-funded resources helped open the Citadel Teaching Commons in 2015 to provide high-performance computing support for computer science students.
“We are deeply grateful to Ken Griffin for his extraordinary vision, partnership and belief in what Carnegie Mellon can achieve,” said Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University.
Griffin said the gift reflects his family’s emphasis on education as a pathway to opportunity. Since relocating Citadel's headquarters to Miami, he has committed roughly $2.4 billion to South Florida causes, and his lifetime charitable giving exceeds $5.7 billion. In 2023 he launched Griffin Catalyst, a civic engagement platform that directs philanthropy across six priority areas, including education, health care and civic life.
What This Means
The donation substantially expands Carnegie Mellon's research and educational footprint and underscores the university's ambitions to address technology-driven societal challenges through interdisciplinary programs. The Miami campus, in particular, positions CMU to deepen engagement with industry, government and regional partners on problems ranging from public health to climate resilience.
All amounts and timelines are those reported by Carnegie Mellon University and the university’s announcement.
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