Thursday, March 6, 1997
CHANCELLOR:
Harvard provost selected to head UCLA, sources confirmBy Marie
Blanchard, Patrick Kerkstra and Edina Lekovic
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Drawing from the ranks of the Ivy League’s most prestigious
leaders, UC President Richard Atkinson has chosen Harvard Provost
Albert Carnesale as UCLA’s next chancellor.
According to numerous independent sources both at Harvard and in
the UC, Atkinson will forward Carnesale’s name to the UC Board of
Regents for final approval today. It is widely expected that the
regents will second the decision.
One close friend and colleague of Carnesale in Harvard’s Kennedy
School of Government went so far as to say, "I would imagine that
the only way Carnesale wouldn’t be the next UCLA chancellor would
be if he died tomorrow."
UC Spokesman Terry Colvin would not confirm reports that
Carnesale was the final choice, but he also pointedly declined to
say that the Harvard provost was not Atkinson’s selection.
Reports from various sources suggest that University of
Pennsylvania Provost Stanley Chodorow, and UCLA Medical Science
Provost and Medical School Dean Gerald Levey and Law School Dean
Susan Prager are out of the running.
Carnesale, 60, is regarded at Harvard as an accomplished
academic and an able administrator. He earned his doctorate in
nuclear engineering in 1966 from North Carolina State University,
and is an expert on nuclear weapons control and foreign policy
issues.
Described as an easygoing and well-liked leader, Carnesale was
dean of the Kennedy School before becoming provost.
"He was very popular and very admired," said UCLA Political
Science Professor James Q. Wilson, who worked with the Harvard
provost at the Kennedy School.
"The school had come into financial difficulties and encountered
a break in the continuity of leadership. Carnesale was admired
because he picked the school up, put it on its feet and by that
became a popular leader."
That same charm served him well when he was interviewed by the
17-member chancellor search committee last week, sources said.
"Carnesale appeared very at ease, very comfortable with the
committee and was very prepared," said undergraduate President John
Du, a member of the search committee.
After the interview, several members of the search committee
appeared won over by his performance and abilities, one search
committee member said.
Other members of the committee though, were less
enthusiastic.
"He gave all the right answers," Du said, "but I wasn’t quite
convinced of his sincerity."
Others within the UC system have joined Du in challenging the
chancellor selection process over the last few months.
Student Regent Jess Bravin, who was not a member of either
committee appointed to choose the UCLA and UC Berkeley chancellors,
believes that the current system is inherently flawed.
"There are no criteria for the appointment of those regents (on
the committee) Â that is done totally at the whim of the
chairman of the board," Bravin said. "There are no standards of who
would make a good chancellor. There are no standards at all.
"I think this illustrates why people have so many suspicions
about this system where people are involved in the search process
based on what are apparently political factors," Bravin added.
Student leaders also questioned the private nature of the
search.
"The process needs to be revitalized. We need to redefine the
role the regents play in selection. We need a process where the
public is aware of what’s going on," Du said.
Over the last five months, the search committee has whittled its
candidate list of over 80 to 16, and down to the short list of four
interviewees last week. For most of the process, applicants’ names
were kept out of the public’s eye.
The process is "designed to protect the confidentiality of the
candidates," Colvin said. "We would feel very bad if a candidate’s
name got out in the public domain and his career was damaged
because of the search."
As a leading administrator at internationally renowned Harvard
University, Carnesale’s academic credentials met with the approval
of faculty on the search committee, while regents were reportedly
impressed by his administrative accomplishments.
But one concern raised by search committee member Du was whether
the leader of an elite, private institution like Harvard could fit
into the more public culture of UCLA.
"I have major concerns about Carnesale’s lack of knowledge about
the university, the Los Angeles community and the shared governance
structure that UCLA prides itself on," Du said.
But despite the obvious differences between Ivy-League Harvard
and UCLA, there are some important similarities.
Although Harvard’s enrollment is just over half of UCLA’s, the
university’s annual billion dollar-plus budget, medical school and
reputation as a research-oriented university are all
characteristics it shares with UCLA.
Just under three years ago, Harvard launched an ambitious
campaign aimed at raising $2.1 billion. Carnesale played a key role
in the campaign  experience which is likely to prove useful
as UCLA prepares to embark on its own billion dollar-plus
fund-raising drive.
The need for fund-raising, along with a trend toward
privatization and the end of the affirmative action era are all
issues that the next chancellor will have to address.
"We’re looking for academic excellence, someone who can help
raise funds and who will lead the university into the next
century," said search committee member and Regent Tom Sayles.
"(We’re looking for) someone who has a vision about how to make the
university better."
With reports from John Digrado, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.
The Associated Press
Harvard Provost Albert Carnesale is UCLA’s next chancellor.
… regents were reportedly impressed by his administrative
accomplishments.