Watch CNBC’s interview with Citadel’s Ken Griffin and Carnegie Mellon Univ. Pres. Farnam Jahanian

Okay, it's great to see you guys at CMU on the on the heels of such a historic announcement, a monumental $3 billion gift to Carnegie Melon University from from Ken. Ken, how did this deal come together? How long have you been working on this? How long have you been working on it? >> Good morning, Sarah. It's a $3 billion investment in Carnegie Melon. It's an investment in excellence in higher education in America. We've worked on this now for two two and a half years. I am so thrilled to be supporting the leadership team of Carnegie Melon. Carnegie Melon is number one in the nation in computer science, artificial intelligence, cyber security, worldrenowned program in robotics, and has an incredibly strong fine arts and drama program that anchors its humanities efforts. This represents what higher education needs to look like in our >> President Johan. And what what about you? How did did you approach Ken or did he approach you? How how did this come together? It's obviously major a billion dollars for your for your campus in Pittsburgh and then two billion to build this new Miami University. >> You know, it started with a conversation about the future of higher ed and CMU has always made bold bets at consequential moments. You know, as you know, Carnegie Melon was founded by Andrew Carnegi to educate sons and daughters of the working class. So, we've been on this journey for 125 years. Ken and I started this conversation about two years ago about uh what a consequential moment it is for higher ed and for our nation. Technology advances are transforming every sector of our economy. advancing scientific discovery at a scale we've not seen it. And candidly, our national security, our economic prosperity is so dependent on winning the talent race and making progress on so many fronts. So for us, the moment is how do we get educate the next generation and how do we prepare them for this world that's changing and how do we accelerate discovery to benefit society in so many different areas. And Ken, I know you've been thinking about this for a long time, as long as I've known you, which is how do we match, you know, higher education with the the skills and tools that young people need for society. It doesn't feel like I mean, I don't I think you say it's not just a geographic expansion. There's a new model here. H how did you come up with this? >> How did you come up with this? Look, I think I think uh the president should speak to that and part of the reasons that I chose to partner with Carnegie Melon is the willingness to step out of the box to think in new ways to be creative to be innovative and I think to touch on the educational model that will be used in Miami. This is a great time for you to do so. Absolutely. So, we thought about this as we were envisioning this new campus and you're absolutely right. It's going to be totally integrated with the Carnegie Melon campuses including the one in Pittsburgh. But the model essentially moves away from thinking about universities in the context of departments, colleges and majors. Instead, we focus and organize the campus around societal grand challenge areas such as human health, national security, our economic competitiveness, cyber security, energy and and climate resiliency and and of course re-industrialization and advanced manufacturing. So we will use these as framing to bring interdisciplinary educators and researchers to focus on learning and on research. >> Yeah. I guess President John, what does it say about the current graduates across universities in this country? Are are universities preparing them adequately? >> Well, there's no question that Carnegie Melon is preparing our students for the future. >> [applause] >> And just to give you an indication of it, >> yeah, but I took the question where I wanted to take it. So, but more seriously, [laughter] I think what we need to recognize that the universities in this country have contributed disproportionately to our economic prosperity, our national security for the last seven 75 years. Times are changing. So, we need to change with it and we need to meet the urgency of the moment and with Ken's investment and support and and partnership candidly, CMU is ready to meet the urgency of the moment. >> Ken, I know it also feeds into your very bullish view and all the work that you have done to try to make Miami a big a major hub. What do you think this does for the future of the city? Look, all great cities in America are anchored by great universities. And to bring one of the greatest universities in the world to Miami will be transitive for Miami, just as Carnegie Melon is transitive transformative for Pittsburgh. You know, Pittsburgh was the industrial heart of America a century ago. And today, the future of our country is being written in this city. Around this campus, there's a hundred different robotics companies. Many of them started, many of them run by people who are graduates of Carnegie Melon. These are the companies that will create the re-industrialization of America. This is the future of our country and that future is being written here in Pittsburgh at CMU. >> You know, Ken, when I saw the announcement, [applause] nice applause there from the crowd. When I saw the announcement, Ken, I I thought, wow, how Harvard really missed out. I mean, you you graduated from Harvard and you gave Harvard half a billion dollars. You decided to pause after we saw the anti anti-semitism rampant across that campus and and some others and and I'm just curious, did you have any discussions with them about this sort of thing? them about, >> you know, taking a step back >> and thinking about how to both elevate higher education >> and and higher education has been under attack in the last two years in the United States. But we need to elevate higher education in our country. This is the on-ramp to the American dream for the youth of our country. We need to make higher education work. Carnegie Melonne is at the forefront of so many of the fields that will define the future of our country and of equal importance. There's such a passion to execute with with urgency and haste because the times call for it. America is in a competitive battle with countries around the world. We need to up our game and that commitment to bringing the best out of America's students and out of our teaching universities. I see that here at Carnegie Melon and I am so thrilled to support the momentum and success that Carnegie Melon's enjoying. >> Does that mean you does that mean that Harvard hasn't made enough progress for you? Harvard hasn't made enough. [laughter] >> Harvard's one of America's iconic institutions, but again, number one in computer science, number one in AI, number one in cyber. I mean, these are the topics that you're covering every day with the viewers on CNBC. This is what your audience wants to hear about because this is the future of our country and CMU is right there at the frontier of what matters to our country for the next century. May I just also add that CMU started the first degree granting drama program in 1914 and it's second to none. >> President Johan and the the recent college graduate unemployment rate is 5.6% as of the middle of the year and that is I would say significantly higher than the national average of 4.2%. Why is that? Are kids getting the the tools that they need? >> I think so. I think what's happening is across the country what we're seeing is significant transformation of the economy which means we need to prepare them for this future. So when I talk about Carnegie Melon and I'm going to share a data point with you. US News and World Report just did their undergraduate ranking. CMU's national ranking has gone from number 20 to number 14 in one year. And the reason for it is they took into consideration what I refer to return on investment. How well are your graduates are doing after four years. CMU is in top three in terms of return on investment for our graduates. So we need to prepare them for the world. This is why it's urgent. It's not about candidly. It's not about just science and technology. We need to teach them how to learn critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication. This is what's holistic about Carnegie Melon education. And this is what we're going to bring to Miami as well. But I think I think I can speak from a slightly different vantage point. The focus at CMU on rigor, on excellence in education, on high expectations for their students is what makes this success story a reality. We need more of that on campuses across America. We need our colleges to appreciate they are here with a singular po purpose. They need to educate our next generation of American leadership. leadership in innovation, in development, in running businesses, in the arts. Carnegie Melon has almost 70 Tony Award winners and its graduates. We need more of that ethos that higher education is that on-ramp to the American dream and universities have to deliver on that promise. And my students who are sitting behind me will tell you that we don't have great inflation at Carnegie Melon. They earn it. >> Um, Ken, the other the other trend we've been seeing among college graduates is rising socialism. And I wonder what you make of that and whether this is in part a solution to tackle that. >> I don't mean it's economic illiteracy. So that goes back to the point that I made that higher education is about academic rigor. There is no point in the history of humanity where socialism has worked. I mean look at the great experiment in China. 50 million people died of starvation. Why do we think this is worthy to teach in our classes in our universities? We need to get back to basics, back to common sense, back to academic rigor. And we need to educate our young men and women in the sciences, in economics, in the humanities to think critically and carefully. That's really what Cardi Melon represents. It's why I am so honored to support this institution, the leadership team, the board, and most importantly, the students. And while we're on the subject of capitalism, while I have you, I think people might be interested because we haven't heard from you, Ken, since this this massive market event, which was the situational awareness. And I do wonder if you can share with us a little bit about what was going on behind the scenes there as as you stepped in to buy at a discount some of those those stocks, which caused um quite a quite a market event. >> Quite a market event. Well, situational awareness has had tremendous success since its origin. They have been very much front and center on the AI success story. A success story written often by alumni of Carnegie Melon. As I said earlier, CMU number one in the nation in AI. Their portfolio levered exposure to AI stocks. There was a wobble in the market. There was a setback in the valuation of these businesses. Too much leverage, too much enthusiasm. they were forced to take a step back to liquidate part of their holdings to ensure their financial stability. Citadel played a critical role in that. We bought most of their portfolio. I was instrumental in that trade. We we worked uh about 40 hours straight to solve the liquidity challenges at situation awareness, but we brought that issue to a solid resolution for both their limited partners and for the investors and our funds at Citadel. >> Do you think there's too much concentration in AI right now in the market, Ken? and and too much leverage. >> So there's a lot of enthusiasm about AI because all of us hope it will unlock productivity gains that our country needs. America has to grow its economy more quickly. If you look at the staggering $40 trillion of national debt, our only path out of this current predicament is to increase productivity. And AI we all hope is one of the ways that we'll do so. Robotics is another. Computer science of course is holistically a key part of the equation. But our country more than ever needs to be laser-like focused on how do we create growth? How do we create opportunities? How do we elevate and accelerate the careers of our young members of society because those are the people who will lead our country in an incredibly competitive world. And America's got to really lead much more aggressively, much more front-footedly. and higher education is a big part of making that story happen. >> President Johan, do you think there's too much AI dumerism around this very topic? Do do your students and and folks you talk to worry that there aren't going to be jobs for them because of AI? >> Well, I can assure you that our students are not worried about or there going to be jobs for them. They're all getting jobs. Having said that, I think we need to approach AI with wide eyes wide open. There's no question that AI is having a huge impact in various ways in improving human health, in improving our economy, in protecting our infrastructure. There are number of important things that are happening as a result of advances in emerging technologies and AI including for example accelerating scientific discovery to understand diseases and uh personalized therapeutics. This is all happening because of AI, because of advances in technology. Having said that, whenever there's a transformative technological uh advance, you have to worry about ethical implication of technology. You have to worry about policy consideration. You have to worry about framework for various kinds of regulations and and uh uh if you will uh boundaries around the technology. I think we're at that point. We need to rise to the moment. But this is what also we do with our students. We not only teach them about science, technology and computing. We also teach them about ethical implications, how society and technology interact and that sweet spot of humanity and technology that has to be protected. >> But Ken, how do they get a job at Citadel? One of the most soughtafter hedge funds probably for young folks to to apply to. Very lucrative offers. What do you look for in in new hires, especially on the education front? >> Especially on the education. >> So, I look for people who really take their education seriously. I also look for grit, determination, a work ethic that that goes with the job that that markets create. I mean, financial markets are extremely competitive. You're competing against the best and brightest around the world. So grit, determination, passion, and a real passion for education and lifetime learning is important to the candidates that we select at Citadel. And I will tell you that the candidates that have a background in AI, in computer science, those are the most sought after candidates in the job markets today. It is incredibly difficult for all firms to recruit the very best and brightest in those fields today. And I know Ken, this is the largest ever investment in a university, but is this something that you would will be willing to do with with other universities when it comes to bringing them to Miami or creating new new models as you're doing here? >> Let's talk about that before you make that decision. [laughter] >> So, you know, I'm thrilled I'm going to be joining the board of trustees of CMU. This this will be unquestionably the most important investment I will make both in higher education and the future of Miami in my lifetime. And I couldn't have picked a better partner to do it with. Thank you. Thank you so very much. [applause] >> Well, thank you guys for for taking the time to to speak to the to the audience. We we really appreciate it. Ken Griffin, Fernam Jian, president of CMU.