William S. Dietrich II, a former steel-industry executive, plans to give $265-million to Carnegie Mellon University—the largest gift in the university's history—after his death, the institution announced on Wednesday.
The longtime trustee's donation is intended to drive the university's global efforts and bolster graduate and undergraduate students in "scholarship, artistic creation, and research," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The gift is about a quarter of the size of Carnegie Mellon's endowment and is the 14th-largest donation ever made to an institution of higher education, according to The Chronicle's database of large gifts. It trumps Carnegie Mellon's second-largest gift by more than $200-million, the Post-Gazette reported.
Mr. Dietrich, who served as president and then chairman of the steel and metal-maker Dietrich Industries, said in a written statement that Carnegie Mellon was more than just a great university. "It is an important driver of the future success of this region and its citizens," he said. "It is one of a handful of universities in the world that has the potential to become a truly global institution."
Jared L. Cohon, the university's president, said in a separate statement that the gift presented a rare opportunity for discretionary spending that "can be directed toward whatever the university thinks is the most important," adding that the Carnegie Mellon faculty has a unique ability to mix and mingle in science, art, business, and other subjects.
"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," Mr. Cohon said.
Mr. Dietrich, who is 73, earned an undergraduate degree at Princeton University, received a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, and served as chairman of Pitt's Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2003. He spent a 40-year career with Dietrich Industries, and sold the company to Worthington Industries in 1996. A university spokesman said Mr. Dietrich had served on the Carnegie Mellon board consecutively since 2003, but also served on and off the board since 1997. Mr. Dietrich had no other personal connection to the university before becoming a trustee, the spokesman said.
