EDITORIAL : UCLA'S NEW CHANCELLOR YOUNG'S SUCCESSOR HAS IMPRESSIVE CREDENTIALS.No one can accuse the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). Board of Regents An independent governing body that oversees a state's public Colleges and Universities. All 50 states have governing bodies that oversee the administration of public education. of picking an unknown to head UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Albert Carnesale Albert (Al) Carnesale (born July 2, 1936) is an American academic, formerly chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles and provost of Harvard University. He has been involved in international diplomacy related to nuclear non-proliferation. , provost of Harvard University, is a nuclear engineer who once helped negotiate arms-control agreements with the Soviet Union. He also was the dean of the prestigious Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Carnesale is clearly a top gun in the world of academia. But the man he is replacing as chancellor, Charles E. Young Dr. Charles E. "Chuck" Young is currently Chancellor Emeritus and Professor at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Under his skillful leadership and guidance, UCLA went from a regional college with an operating budget of $170 million to became a world class institution with expenses , is no slouch slouch v. slouched, slouch·ing, slouch·es v.intr. 1. To sit, stand, or walk with an awkward, drooping, excessively relaxed posture. 2. To droop or hang carelessly, as a hat. v. , either. Young, who has been in charge of the Westwood campus since 1968, was the longest-serving chief executive of any major university in the nation. With Young at its helm, UCLA became one of the nation's great universities; in 1996, the National Research Council ranked UCLA's Ph.D. programs among the top 20 in their fields and third overall in the nation. So it isn't a matter of the regents needing someone to lift UCLA from mediocrity to excellence; UCLA turned that corner long before Young arrived on the job. What the campus needs is someone who can build upon all the good work that has gone before. This isn't to say that all's well. The UC system has taken a financial beating in recent years, due mainly to a recession that pinched state budgets - and the reluctance of voters to approve bond issues for new construction. Meanwhile, student fees were increased in order to ease the burden on the state's general fund. But the financial picture is becoming brighter. Gov. Pete Wilson's proposed 1997-98 budget calls for a 6.1 percent increase in state funding for the UC system - and no increases in annual fees for undergraduate students. So all in all, Carnesale has every right to be in an upbeat mood as he prepares to move west. |
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