Wednesday, April 2, 1997
PUBLIC POLICY:
UCLA’s newest school continues to set itself apartBy Mason
Stockstill
Daily Bruin Contributor
What do a former consultant to the Swedish government, an arms
control expert and UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young have in
common?
The newest professional school at UCLA, of course.
Barbara J. Nelson, dean of the school, served as a consultant to
the Swedish government, while incoming Chancellor Albert Carnesale
is an arms control expert who served during the Cold War years.
Nelson was appointed to head the School of Public Policy and
Social Research on Nov. 1 of last year, and she has brought with
her a new approach to studying public policy at the university.
Consulting with the Swedish government is just one item on
Nelson’s resume, which also includes working with several U.N.
agencies, serving on the faculties of Princeton and Minnesota
universities, and holding the position of vice president for
academic programs and strategic planning at Radcliffe College.
It was during her stay at Radcliffe that Nelson worked with
Carnesale.
"Al Carnesale is an energetic and vibrant leader," she said.
"Carnesale will be a first-rate chancellor, one whose
understanding of the importance of public policy and public service
will serve the university and region well, as well as the School of
Public Policy and Social Research," she continued.
During his career at Harvard, Carnesale served as the dean of
the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and is credited with
bringing the school from the brink of chaos to its present state as
a smoothly running, prestigious school of government.
"He managed to bring light and harmony … into that
environment," said Marshall Goldman, associate director of the
Kathryne W. and Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Russian Studies at
Harvard. "It was an enormous accomplishment."
But one major concern that many people express about Carnesale’s
appointment as UCLA’s next chancellor is that coming from Harvard,
a private university, Carnesale may not be attuned to the needs and
goals of a public institution like UCLA.
Undergraduate President John Du expressed "strong reservations"
about Carnesale serving as UCLA’s chief administrator, saying that
while Carnesale "may be great for a private school, he will have
tremendous difficulty leading a public university  especially
UCLA."
However, Carnesale believes that his experience in the arena of
public policy will enable him to succeed at UCLA.
"I spent my years at Harvard in the areas of public policy and
administration," Carnesale said. The future chancellor has also
expressed interest in teaching at the School of Public Policy and
Social Research while serving as chancellor.
In fact, one of the first things that Young and Carnesale
discussed with each other was the School of Public Policy.
Young intimated that he is also interested in teaching at the
school next year at a press conference confirming Carnesale’s
appointment. He plans to teach graduate classes, which would place
him in the ranks of professors such as visiting Professor Michael
Dukakis, former presidential candidate and governor of
Massachusetts.
"A greater involvement in shaping public policy has been a high
priority at UCLA for many years," Young said. The School of Public
Policy and Social Research is well-prepared to face that
challenge.
The school, which was created in July 1994, is home to three
academic departments, as well as a master of public policy and an
undergraduate minor in public policy and undergraduate courses in
all of its departments.
The three departments within the school are Policy Studies,
Social Welfare and Urban Planning. The school also houses seven
research centers, from the Center for Child and Family Policy
Research to the Institute of Transportation Studies.
Policy schools mostly sprung up about 30 years ago, in the midst
of Cold War nationalism, Nelson says. "The assumptions on which the
original policy schools were based no longer correspond with the
political and economic realities of today," Nelson said in an
interview with UCLA Today.
While at the Kennedy School, Carnesale was a well-liked
professor, according to UCLA Political Science Professor James Q.
Wilson. "He was very popular and very admired."
Young also served as a professor in the political science
department for several years prior to succeeding former Chancellor
Franklin D. Murphy in the late 1960s.
While Carnesale and Young have not expressed which department
they would like to teach in, the school stands to benefit greatly
from adding the two academic heavyweights to its list of
faculty.
The integration of the three professions of policy studies,
social welfare and urban planning is what sets the School of Public
Policy and Social Research apart from other policy schools.
"It is very much to our advantage that we have a dynamic mix of
three departments that bring a wide range of perspectives and
expertise to the problems we face," Nelson said.