Carnegie Mellon Miami now has a dean.
University officials said that Jignesh Patel, a computer scientist at CMU, will serve as founding dean and vice president at Florida's future CMU Miami in an Oct. 20 release.
The campus is expected to begin enrolling students in 2028, "pending the necessary regulatory approvals" according to the release. Patel will lead "efforts to recruit top faculty and students," build "partnerships across private and public sectors" and "establish" the Miami campus as a "distinctive hub."
"CMU Miami is an opportunity to start with the challenges facing society and figure out how to solve them in the most effective way," Patel said. "That has been a theme throughout my teaching and research career: Turning ideas into results
that make a difference."
Who is Jignesh Patel? What to know about dean of Carnegie Mellon Miami
Patel is a computer scientist and faculty member at Carnegie Mellon's Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science, where he has served as interim head of the computer science department since 2025, according to the release.
He joined CMU in 2023 after previous positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan.
Carnegie Mellon to construct Miami campus
Carnegie Mellon University plans to construct a new campus in Miami, funded by a $2 billion donation by Ken Griffin, the CEO of Citadel.
The campus will be located on "more than 35 acres in Wynwood," according to a Sept. 30 press release by the university. Griffin donated a further $1 billion "to support" CMU's original Pittsburgh campus.
Carnegie Mellon highlights its business analytics graduate program and its artificial intelligence program, according to its own website, which cites the U.S. News & World Report.
"Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts," according to the university's website.
Undergraduate tuition for first-years starting in fall of 2026 is $69,702 — but the total cost of attendance, including factors such as housing, food and course materials is estimated at $93,614 for "resident" students and at $78,620 for commuter students.
The university says it has 16,582 students, 1,615 faculty members and 127,691 alumni.
What subject areas will Carnegie Mellon Miami focus on?
Construction of the Miami campus is expected to begin in 2027, and the "current plan" would see the first students enrolling in 2028.
Upon completion, the campus would "support more than 3,500 undergraduate, master's and PhD students," as well as "nearly 300 faculty and over 600 staff members."
The release says that CMU Miami will organize "learning and inquiry around societal challenges rather than academic majors alone," according to the university, with focuses on "health and biological discovery," "national security and strategic capabilities" and "energy and climate resilience."
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carnegie Mellon Miami now has a dean. What the campus will offer
