October 30, 2019
Dear Members of the CMU Community,
What will we make possible? It’s a question we answer every day at Carnegie Mellon University. Our tradition of making the seemingly impossible possible has enabled our global leadership at the nexus of technology and humanity.
Today, I’m delighted to announce the launch of our campaign that will accelerate our transformational future. Make Possible: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University is our collective philanthropic investment in this great institution, at a pivotal moment when we stand to play a key role in shaping the world for generations to come.
Our goals for this campaign are ambitious. We seek to raise $2 billion to support the extraordinary work and people of CMU. I am proud to report that more than 42,000 supporters have already contributed gifts totaling more than half of our goal during the quiet phase of the campaign. Their generosity is truly exceptional, and I offer my most heartfelt thanks to all who have given to this critical effort so far.
But the funds raised are not the most important measure of a campaign. Instead, it is what those funds will allow the Carnegie Mellon community to do. Through supporters’ gifts to the campaign, we will make possible initiatives within four university-wide aspirations that comprise the core of our strategic vision, as well as important aspirations in each of our seven colleges and schools.
Make Possible has already changed Carnegie Mellon, and its colleges and schools, in measurable ways. To date, our supporters have endowed 30 faculty chairs, including the deanships for the College of Engineering, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Mellon College of Science; and the headship of the School of Music. These critical commitments give us the resources to recruit the brightest minds on the planet to our campuses and enhance a faculty community that is unmatched in their commitment to relentless innovation and bold entrepreneurship.
Donors also have funded 129 new endowed scholarships and 94 new fellowships, increasing our ability to ensure a life-changing CMU education is available to the world’s most talented students, and adding to the diversity of our student body. And they have supported initiatives to enhance the student experience, including new programs for student success, undergraduate research and civic engagement, among others.
Philanthropic support from the campaign already has transformed our Pittsburgh campus. The David A. Tepper Quadrangle, the most expansive building project in university history, is a model for 21st-century educational spaces. Its rich environment sparks discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration, and was made possible by more than 1,200 donors spanning alumni, parents, faculty, staff, corporations, foundations and students.
We also recently completed construction of ANSYS Hall, part of the tremendous expansion of our Maker Ecosystem, which will celebrate its grand opening tomorrow. And the TCS Hall for interdisciplinary research and new Scaife Hall for the College of Engineering will soon follow.
There are countless other ways supporters are making possible a dynamic environment for our community: health and wellness programming; initiatives for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive climate; graduate student research and travel funding; investments in the foundational sciences; arts programs; and much more.
If you have a passion for Carnegie Mellon, and for education and discovery that betters our world, your philanthropy at CMU can bring that passion to life. Every gift makes a tangible difference.
Carnegie Mellon’s position as a world leader was built on making the right bets — the smart investments — at just the right moment. Make Possible is the next big investment for our CMU community.
I invite you to visit makepossible.cmu.edu to learn more about our vision for what we will achieve, view our campaign video, and explore how you can join this important initiative.
Together, we will make possible an extraordinary future at Carnegie Mellon.
Warm regards,
Farnam
Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman Chair