Professor Carnesale

Few UCLA students ever have the opportunity to interact with the top administrator at their university, let alone take a class with him.

But for a group of about twenty undergraduates taking a Fiat Lux seminar taught by Chancellor Albert Carnesale this quarter, this is the case.

UCLA’s chancellor and resident national security expert is teaching “Rethinking National Security,” which meets at 10 a.m. Fridays to discuss and debate pressing issues of national security, such as possible war with Iraq, dealing with terrorism and balancing security with civil liberties.

The one-unit course focuses on the changes to national security resulting from the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and for many of the students, Carnesale’s expertise on these matters – rather than simply his presence as an administrator – has made the class a unique experience.

“Being able to take a course with the chancellor has been an amazing opportunity for me. However, learning from an expert on national security – someone who has worked as a consultant for the president – is what makes this class as interesting as it is,” said Erin Emery, a first-year French and Francophone studies student.

While Carnesale’s involvement in the course did influence some students to take the class, especially because some said it would have otherwise been too early to take, most had previous interest in the subject and were enthusiastic about learning more about issues that they see as of immediate importance.

A few did not even realize that Carnesale would be teaching the seminar.

“I found out a few days after I had enrolled that it was being taught by the chancellor. Therefore, it did not play a role in my interest in the course” said Nareeneh Sohbatian, a first-year political science student.

Carnesale has extensive experience dealing with matters of national security, participating in the U.S. delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks from 1970 to 1972, and serving as a consultant to the Departments of Defense, Energy and State, among other government organizations.

According to Amy Sandler, the course teaching assistant and special assistant to Carnesale, the chancellor wanted to teach this course to demonstrate his commitment to undergraduate education and to make UCLA a smaller place through involving students.

This is the third quarter Carnesale has taught this seminar. After Sept. 11, 2001 the Fiat Lux seminars were established as a chance for faculty to work closely with first-year students in a small, informal setting, and many of this seminar’s students have generally been pleased with the availability of the chancellor throughout the quarter.

“There is time to discuss our papers with him, and I understand that he has a huge workload everyday to run UCLA,” said Sharat Batra, a first-year mechanical engineering student.

Though the aim of these seminars has been to facilitate discussion among students, Carnesale himself has been inspired by ideas pushed by students, Sandler said.

In a lecture titled “Rethinking National Security,” presented Feb. 28, 2002, Carnesale drew on many ideas originally introduced by students in previous seminars.

“The students, primarily freshmen and sophomores, always ask: ‘Why does it have to be that way?’ This does force you to think about these subjects more critically and to challenge your assumptions,” he said in his speech.

Despite his extensive background and position as chancellor, few of the students in the seminar have found Carnesale an intimidating presence.

“The chancellor made the material easy enough to discuss, yet we still learn something from it. I think all the students feel comfortable participating in the classroom with the warm environment presented by the chancellor,” Batra said.