MIAMI — Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of global alternative investment firm Citadel, has announced plans to gift $2 billion for the launch of Carnegie Mellon University Miami, a new campus of the Pittsburgh-based private research university.
Upon completion, the Miami campus will support more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students, with roughly 300 faculty and 600 staff members. The project will be situated on more than 35 acres in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami.
Plans include dedicated space for research labs and venture studios. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the first students enrolling in 2028.
According to local news outlets, the project site for the new campus was purchased from developer Moishe Mana.
Griffin is also donating $1 billion to support Carnegie Mellon’s home Pittsburgh campus, including a $500 million investment in the School of Computer Science, which will be renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science.
Earlier this year, Griffin purchased 545 Wyn, an office building located in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, for $181 million, in partnership with Goldman Properties.
In 2022, Citadel announced plans for a new global headquarters in the city’s Brickell financial district, moving from its longtime home in Chicago. Development plans include 1.2 million square feet of office space and amenities for Citadel and other tenants. Carnegie Mellon University was originally established in 1900 as the Carnegie Technical Schools by Andrew Carnegie. In 1967, the institution merged with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, which was co-founded in 1909 by Andrew and Richard Mellon. The institution is currently ranked as the No. 14 school nationally by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” annual ranking.
— Hayden Spiess