… The gift furthers the university's ability to educate students in strong interdisciplinary problem-solving and supports the unique recipe for education offered by Carnegie Mellon's seven schools and colleges, all of which are leaders in their fields.

Calling Carnegie Mellon "a special place," Dietrich said he made this landmark gift to the university because of its global approach and the quality of its faculty and students, who bring interdisciplinary thinking and complex problem-solving strategies to real-world problems.

"A gift that enhances educational opportunities creates a multiplier effect for our communities and our country — in other words, it is a mode of giving that leverages a gift to achieve its maximum effectiveness," Dietrich said.

He continued, "Serving as a trustee of Carnegie Mellon convinced me that Carnegie Mellon is not only a great university, but that it is an important driver of the future success of this region and its citizens.

Dietrich added, "I have seen first-hand how Carnegie Mellon has maintained the same 'can-do' spirit and multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving that was part of its founding, and that it is one of a handful of universities in the world that has the potential to become a truly global institution. All of this makes Carnegie Mellon a great investment."

In recognition of the gift, the university's College of Humanities and Social Sciences was named the Marianna Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences after Dietrich's mother, a homemaker who inspired and supported Dietrich throughout his life.

Carnegie Mellon announced the gift on Sept. 7, 2011, with a webcast that spanned its campuses in Pittsburgh, Silicon Valley and Qatar, as well as program locations in Washington, D.C., Australia and Portugal.

Friends and family, including his daughter, Anna Elizabeth Diemer of San Francisco, Calif., joined Dietrich at the celebration.

"Bill has always loved history and now he is making history with this wonderful gift," said Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon. "Bill understands the special character of Carnegie Mellon with the unique ability of our faculty to work collaboratively at the intersections of science, technology, art, humanities, business and policy.

He added, "This remarkable gift will give us the resources to enhance and extend those collaborations, expand the university's impact in the world and enrich the education of our students."

Dietrich's gift, among the 10 largest in the United States, is believed to be the 14th largest gift to higher education worldwide.

"Andrew Carnegie once said, 'As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.' Today, we are seeing the result of what one man can do," said Ray Lane, chairman of CMU's Board of Trustees and general partner of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers.

He added, "It is remarkable how much Carnegie Mellon has achieved with its limited resources, regularly producing disproportionate impacts in every field in which it operates. Imagine how much more it will achieve with these new resources!

"As a Pittsburgher myself, I am especially pleased that Bill, an accomplished native son of Pittsburgh, will be forever linked to Carnegie Mellon in this very meaningful way," Lane said.

The gift comes at a time when CMU is in the public phase of its $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled Inspire Innovation. The Dietrich gift brought the campaign total to approximately $950 million, which is 95 percent of the campaign's goal. The campaign will continue until June 30, 2013.

Ed Frank, a Silicon Valley executive, CMU trustee and alumnus, and chairman of the capital campaign, added his thanks for the gift, which brings the campaign closer to its goal.

"The top research universities in the United States play a vital role in addressing the challenges facing our country and the world. As such, I believe they are one of the best philanthropic investments an individual can make, especially Carnegie Mellon, which is a uniquely creative institution," Frank said.

He added, "I'm certain that Bill's magnificent gift will inspire all who work at Carnegie Mellon to even greater achievement and all who contribute to Carnegie Mellon to even greater support."