December 12, 2017
Dear Members of the CMU Community,
I am delighted to announce a $10 million gift from alumnus Glen de Vries, co-founder and president of Medidata, that will endow the chair of the dean of the Mellon College of Science. The chair’s endowment will provide critical funds to support key initiatives in the fundamental sciences and further connect the sciences to other disciplines across CMU. In recognition of this generous gift, the university will establish the Glen de Vries Dean’s Chair in the Mellon College of Science, to be awarded to Dean Rebecca W. Doerge.
Glen graduated from MCS in 1994 with a degree in molecular biology and genetics. In 1999, he founded Medidata, a life sciences technology provider that revolutionized the way clinical research is designed, conducted and analyzed. Medidata’s platform has supported more than 13,000 studies involving nearly four million patients, and is used by more than 950 organizations. Beginning with just two employees, it has grown to more than 2,000 employees. In recognition of his outstanding career, Glen was awarded the 2017 CMU Alumni Achievement Award.
Glen is a member of the CMU President’s Global Advisory Council. He loves interacting with students, and recently returned to campus to share his story with students, faculty, staff and alumni at the 50th Anniversary celebration. Glen also previously endowed a Presidential Fellowship in the biological sciences.
Foundational science and math are at the core of CMU’s education and research, and we are deeply grateful to Glen for ensuring that Dean Doerge and those who follow her will have the critical resources they need to advance science at CMU and the Mellon College of Science. The impact of Glen’s work stands as a powerful example of how CMU alumni change the world, and his decision to give back to CMU inspires us all.
Please join me in congratulating Rebecca and thanking Glen.
Sincerely,
Farnam Jahanian
Interim President