Dietrich

PITTSBURGH — Carnegie Mellon University has received a huge pledge to expand its programs.

The $265 million gift from William S. Dietrich II is one of the largest in recent years from an individual to a private university, and the largest in the school’s history.

Dietrich is the former chairman of Dietrich Industries, a supplier of steel building materials. Carnegie Mellon was founded as a technical school in 1900 by steel king Andrew Carnegie, but in recent years it has become known for world-class programs in computer science, robotics, and the arts.

CMU has 6,020 undergraduates and 5,510 graduate students.