Cooper Union '57
Drexel University M.S. '61
North Carolina State Ph.D. '66

The eighth chief executive in the University's history, Albert Carnesale became Chancellor of UCLA on July 1, 1997, committed to the goal of ensuring "that UCLA is, and is seen as, one of the world's great universities." Carnesale, an active teacher and lecturer, holds faculty appointments in the Department of Policy Studies at the School of Public Policy and Social Research and in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Before assuming the helm of UCLA, Carnesale was at Harvard University for 23 years. In 1974, he became the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Public Policy and Administration at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where his teaching and research endeavors focused on international security and arms control. He assumed the role of the Kennedy School's Academic Dean in 1981, acting as the principal advisor to the Dean on matters of faculty personnel, research, and teaching. In November 1991, Carnesale became Dean of the Kennedy School, serving as its principal academic and administrative officer. July 1994 saw Carnesale's appointment as Provost of Harvard University.

Earlier in his career, Carnesale was a member of the faculty at North Carolina State University from 1962 to 1969, and again from 1972 to 1974. In the intervening years, he held a position in government as part of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1969 to 1972. In addition, he worked in private industry for Martin Marietta Corporation from 1957 to 1962.

Born on July 2, 1936, Carnesale grew up in a tenement in the Bronx, New York. He has said that his ambition as a young man was "to have a job in which you enjoy your work, and wear a white shirt and tie."

Carnesale earned B.M.E. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering at Cooper Union in 1957 and Drexel University in 1961, respectively. In 1966, he received a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University. In addition to his role as an educator, Carnesale consults widely in both the public and private sectors on foreign and defense policy matters. He has shared his expertise with the administrations of every sitting President since Richard Nixon as a consultant to the Executive Office of the President; the Departments of Defense, Energy, and State; the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; and the Director of Central Intelligence. Carnesale also participated in the U.S. delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I, 1970-72) and led the U.S. delegation to the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation (1978-80), a 66-nation study of the relationship between civilian nuclear power and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Most recently, Carnesale participated in a trilateral (U.S. - Russia - Germany) conference on "Russia and the West: A Relationship in Crisis" (Berlin, July 1999).

Carnesale is co-author of six books, and he has authored or co-authored 45 articles. His work has been published in Foreign Affairs, International Affairs, International Security (of which he was a founding editor), Washington Quarterly, and other journals.

Carnesale holds honorary degrees from Harvard University (A.M.), New Jersey Institute of Technology (Sc.D.), Drexel University (LL.D.), and North Carolina State University (Lit.D.). He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Pi Sigma, and Sigma Xi honorary societies. He is a recipient of the Gano Dunn Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement, awarded him by Cooper Union in 1985, as well as the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency's Exceptional Achievement Award in 1970, 1971, and 1972. In 1968, he received the Alumni Award for Outstanding Teaching from North Carolina State University, where he is a member of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

Carnesale is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the President's Council on Humanitas, and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. He serves on the boards of Teradyne Corporation and Mellon Financial Services - West Coast.