It is reported that the University of Pittsburgh has received a pledge for USD 125 million, the largest gift in its history, from retired steel executive Mr William Dietrich two weeks after he said he would donate USD 265 million to Carnegie Mellon University.

The University of Pittsburgh said that the gift will be in the form of a fund that begins operating upon Dietrich’s death. Its school of arts and sciences will be renamed after Dietrich’s father.

Mr Dietrich is the former chairman and president of Dietrich Industries Inc, a Pittsburgh based steelmaker now owned by Worthington Industries Inc. He is a trustee at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned master's and doctoral degrees in political science.

Mr Dietrich said in the statement that "As a graduate who personally benefited from my own studies at Pitt, I want to ensure that the university can continue to provide educational opportunities of the highest quality to its undergraduate and graduate students."
His donation to Carnegie Mellon, another Pittsburgh university where he is a trustee, was the largest in that school’s history. Carnegie Mellon' college of humanities will be named after Mr Dietrich's mother. The gift was announced September 7th 2011.

The University of Pittsburgh was founded as a private institution in 1787 and became a state related school in 1966. The university has more than 35,000 students on five campuses.

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)