January 27, 2026

Dear Members of the CMU Community,

As we wrote in our December email, the Fence Working Group is committed to hearing from students, alumni, faculty and staff who care deeply about the Fence and what it represents.

We are now finalizing plans for various group gatherings hosted by our members, where CMU community members can share views, ask questions and talk with us directly. We invite you to join us in one or more of these gatherings and ask that you RSVP via our central link. All gatherings will take place in person on the Pittsburgh campus; location information will be shared with registrants via email before the event date.

• Tuesday, Feb. 3, noon-1 p.m.
  Staff-only panel Q&A with faculty/alumni/staff members of the Fence Working Group
• Monday, Feb. 9, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
  All-CMU community (including alumni) discussion forum with members of the Fence Working Group
• Wednesday, Feb. 11, 5-6 p.m.
  Undergraduate-only small group roundtable discussion with members of the Fence Working Group
• Monday, Feb. 16, 5-6:30 p.m.
  Student-only panel Q&A and discussion: an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to ask questions of student members of the Fence Working Group
• Wednesday, Feb. 18, 11 a.m.-noon
  Faculty-only drop-in office hours with faculty members of the Fence Working Group
• Thursday, Feb. 19, 11 a.m.-noon
  Faculty-only drop-in office hours with faculty members of the Fence Working Group
• Tuesday, Feb. 24, 4:30-6 p.m.
  All-CMU community (including alumni) discussion forum with members of the Fence Working Group

RSVP Now

Please note, these sessions are for CMU community members and not open to the general public. We welcome any local alumni to join the in-person all-CMU community forums on Feb. 9 and 24. We also regularly monitor and respond to the Fence Working Group email.

We hope to speak with many of you over the course of the next few weeks.

The Fence Working Group

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon University Community:

I’m thrilled to share important news that reflects Carnegie Mellon’s leadership in learning science, artificial intelligence, educational innovation and service to the nation.

Today, Carnegie Mellon University and the Gates Foundation announce the launch of Learnvia,  a new national nonprofit focused on transforming student success and workforce development on a national scale. Learnvia is enabled by a historic $55 million philanthropic investment from the Gates Foundation — the largest grant to a single entity in the foundation’s higher education portfolio — and it builds directly on decades of Carnegie Mellon scholarship in learning science.

At Carnegie Mellon, we have long believed that understanding how people learn and applying that knowledge to expand opportunity is central to the public mission of higher education. More than half a century ago, Herbert A. Simon — Nobel laureate, Turing Award winner and one of the intellectual founders of artificial intelligence and cognitive science — argued that improving education would require “converting teaching from a solo sport to a community-based research activity.” He challenged universities to apply data, experimentation and theory to understand how people learn, and to use that knowledge to expand opportunity at scale.

That vision has guided Carnegie Mellon ever since, carried out by scholars such as John Anderson, Ken Koedinger and countless others. From early leadership in computation and cognitive psychology to the creation of the Open Learning Initiative, the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center and the Simon Initiative, CMU faculty from across our schools and colleges have a legacy of pushing boundaries at the intersections of learning science, educational technology and AI.

Learnvia is the next chapter in this story.

Across the United States today, high-enrollment gateway courses, particularly in mathematics, remain a significant barrier to degree completion and workforce participation. Roughly 30% of students nationwide do not complete these courses successfully, limiting access to careers that depend on strong quantitative skills. At the same time, employers across the economy — from the skilled trades to healthcare, data science and engineering — face persistent shortages of workers with required math preparation.

Learnvia addresses this challenge by combining free, AI-enabled courseware with support for evidence-based instructional practices that is grounded in decades of CMU learning science research. This academic year, nearly 40 institutions — including Carnegie Mellon University, public research universities, regional campuses and community colleges — are piloting Learnvia’s Calculus I courseware. We expect this learning collaborative to more than double by fall 2026 with course offerings continuing to grow. 

In the long term, Learnvia aims to bolster math skills in learners of all types, ultimately supporting the upskilling, reskilling and workforce development required for the United States to remain competitive in the global economy.

Provost Jim Garrett and I are deeply grateful to our colleagues across campus whose vision, scholarship and sustained leadership made this milestone possible. While there have been many champions of this work over the years, we want to especially acknowledge Richard Scheines for his long-standing leadership and Amy Burkert for her decades-long dedication to advancing this effort. We are also thankful to the Simon Initiative leadership team and Learnvia’s implementation team, including Norman Bier, Marsha Lovett and the members of Learnvia’s Board of Directors.

We are also profoundly grateful for the extraordinary partnership of the Gates Foundation. Their confidence in Carnegie Mellon is a resounding reminder that higher education can be a powerful engine for economic mobility and national prosperity.

At a moment when our nation is grappling with rapid technological change and an evolving workforce, Learnvia exemplifies what Carnegie Mellon does best: translating foundational research into real-world impact and designing systems that expand opportunity for learners everywhere. I am proud of this community’s leadership, and I look forward to the work ahead.

With appreciation,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President's Chair

Dear Members of the CMU Community:

I write today to announce that Angela Blanton, our vice president for finance and chief financial officer, has shared her plans to depart Carnegie Mellon University on April 1, 2026.

Since assuming the duties of CFO in 2016, Angela has strengthened CMU’s financial stewardship as well as our capacity to plan wisely, act decisively and invest confidently in the future. In the last decade, the university’s institutional assets have nearly doubled — going from over $3.9 billion to nearly $7.7 billion. This growth, in conjunction with an annual operating budget of approximately $1.7 billion, fundamentally fuels every aspect of Carnegie Mellon’s academic and research missions.

As CFO, Angela has collaborated with leaders across CMU to align institutional resources in support of the university’s strategic framework and priorities. This work has enabled major capital investments that will transform the university’s future. It also has helped to underpin dramatic gains in student access and affordability via initiatives such as the CMU Pathway Program, which helps U.S. students earn a CMU education without the burden of federal student loans.

Under Angela’s leadership, CMU’s Finance Division worked in close partnership with academic and administrative units to support consecutive operating surpluses and expanded net assets during a time of unprecedented disruption across the higher education landscape. Throughout these challenges, including the pandemic, CMU improved its S&P Global Rating from AA- to AA+ and secured an inaugural rating of Aa1 from Moody’s Ratings. She also launched a comprehensive multiyear strategic plan within the Finance Division that prioritized financial sustainability, policy and compliance, systems modernization, analytics and professional development. Developed in partnership with academic and administrative leaders, the plan spanned all units under her purview and created a clear roadmap for enhanced service delivery, stronger insight and improved operational excellence across the university. As CFO, Angela also implemented and enhanced key enterprise finance systems, such as CMU’s first planning and forecasting system (Oracle EPM) and the financial data warehouse modernization leading to the university's data lake.

Additionally, Angela has represented Carnegie Mellon and served the broader community through a number of external commitments. These roles include turns as the independent director of GCM Grosvenor and chair of the board for Code for America, as well as leadership positions with NACUBO and board appointments for organizations such as Leadership Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Theater (past chair) and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

On a personal note, I want to share how grateful I am for Angela’s extraordinary leadership and service. Her stewardship and steady hand have meant a great deal to me and to the university community. We will share details regarding the search for Angela’s successor in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Angela and I will work closely together to ensure a smooth and well-managed transition.

Please join me in thanking Angela for all she has done for Carnegie Mellon and in wishing her the very best.

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair