Carnegie Mellon University
November 04, 2021

Announcing $16 Million Gift for Student Success and University Libraries

Dear Members of the CMU Community: 

I write today to share the exciting news that CMU has received a new $16 million gift from the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh to support student success and the University Libraries. 

The gift will include $10 million to endow the Tartan Scholars Program, a program established in 2018 that is designed to meet the unique needs of high-achieving students from limited resource backgrounds with academic, social and financial support. The Posner Foundation was an early champion of the Tartan Scholars Program, providing critical support to envision and launch the program, which now has more than 290 participating students. 

The gift will also name and endow the Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. Dean’s Chair for the University Libraries, continuing their history of supporting the University Libraries. The $5 million gift will provide resources for strategic priorities and continue to strengthen the Libraries collections. Keith Webster will be the inaugural chairholder. 

Lastly, the gift includes $1 million toward construction of CMU’s new Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics, an investment to help create a more robust holistic student experience and support students in maintaining their physical and psychological well-being as they pursue a life-changing education. 

The Posners have been ardent champions of Carnegie Mellon and our students for decades. A member of the Posner family has served on the CMU Board of Trustees for nearly all of the past 35 years, starting with Henry Posner Jr. in 1986, and now Anne Molloy, trustee of the Posner Foundation and the wife of its chairman, Henry Posner III. Henry, who is chairman of the Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Dietrich College. 

Over the decades, the Posner family has made gifts to endow several scholarships for CMU undergraduate students as part of the university’s efforts to recruit and retain the best and the brightest students globally. They have also provided support for the Posner Center, the Cohon University Center, the University Libraries, and the creation of the Tartan Scholars Program two years ago. This latest commitment will continue to build on this legacy by providing talented students the access and tools they need to thrive at CMU. We are all grateful for their continued support and faith in the power of a CMU education. 

I invite you to read more about this gift and how it will help advance student success at CMU and cultivate a dynamic, accessible, supportive and diverse student experience. 

On behalf of the university community, I wish to thank the Posner Foundation, Henry Posner and Anne Molloy for their generosity and commitment to CMU! 

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair