Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has announced a $10 million gift from alumnus Lane Bess ('83) and his wife, Letty, to endow the dean's chair in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The gift will establish the Bess Family Dean's Chair of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and help incentivize innovation around the college's strategic initiatives and emerging priorities. The Dietrich College is home to nine departments and programs as well as research centers that often cross disciplines, allowing the school's faculty and students to investigate and solve real-world problems.

Principal of Bess Ventures and Advisory, a strategic management, investment, and marketing services firm, Bess is a member of the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and joined CMU's board of trustees in May. The couple previously supported the Dietrich College's Grand Challenge Seminars program as well as internships and scholarships.

"The essential work in Dietrich College leads the way we study humanity with the goal of creating real-world impact. This extraordinary gift from Lane and Letty creates new opportunities for dean [Richard] Scheines to advance the interdisciplinary work that is a hallmark of the college's rich culture," said CMU president Farnam Jahanian. "The Besses' commitment to education and research will create unprecedented opportunities to advance human knowledge and improve the human condition."