A Record-breaking Gift

On Sept. 7, 2011, trustee and philanthropist William S. Dietrich II announced a plan to provide a gift of a $265 million fund to support Carnegie Mellon University. It was the largest single gift from an individual in the university’s history.

The fund was established to serve as a catalyst for the university's global initiatives; to support future academic initiatives including undergraduate and graduate programs, scholarships, artistic creation and research; and to further the university's ability to educate students in strong interdisciplinary studies.

In recognition of the gift, CMU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences was renamed the Marianna Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences after Dietrich's mother.