Inside Ken Griffin's $3 billion gift to Carnegie Mellon

Ken Griffin, founder and chief executive of the investment firm Citadel, has committed $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, the university announced on September 30. Carnegie Mellon calls it the largest gift by an individual in the history of higher education. It is also the largest gift Griffin has made.

For anyone who asks for or makes large gifts, the useful detail is how the money is divided.

Where the $3 billion goes

• $2 billion for CMU Miami, a new campus on more than 35 acres in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. The university says construction is slated to begin in 2027, with the first students enrolling in 2028, pending regulatory approvals.
• $500 million for the School of Computer Science in Pittsburgh, which will be renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science.
• $500 million in flexible support for the university's highest priorities in Pittsburgh.

Griffin will also join Carnegie Mellon's board of trustees.

A campus built around problems

Carnegie Mellon says the Miami campus will organize teaching and research around societal challenges rather than academic majors. At launch it will focus on human health and biological discovery, national security, energy and climate resilience, and advanced manufacturing. When complete, the university expects it to serve more than 3,500 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students, with nearly 300 faculty members and more than 600 staff.

"It is a tremendous privilege to be part of this historic moment," Griffin said in the university's announcement. President Farnam Jahanian said artificial intelligence "demands that we rethink how we educate students, conduct research and partner with others." The gift reflects the priorities of Griffin Catalyst, the initiative through which Griffin directs his philanthropy and civic work.

What fundraisers can take from it

Few organizations will ever see a gift of this size, but its structure works at any scale. One commitment pays for a new venture, attaches the donor's name to an existing program, and leaves a large share unrestricted, and the announcement says exactly how much goes to each. A development office preparing a proposal for its own top donor can offer the same three parts, and should be just as clear about which part is flexible.