NEWS RELEASE, 07/07/98 University of Maryland's Michael Nacht named new dean of UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy

By Kathleen Scalise, Public Affairs

BERKELEY -- Michael Nacht, professor of public policy and former dean of the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, is the new dean of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He assumed the post July 1. The 55-year-old Nacht "received rave reviews as dean at Maryland," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl. "He was a dynamic leader who recruited to the school both top-quality scholars and distinguished, retired policy-makers." A native of New York, Nacht earned his B.S. in aeronautics and astronautics and began his career working on missile aerodynamics for NASA. He subsequently earned his Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University and joined the faculty of Harvard University, where he remained until 1984. At Harvard he held a number of appointments, including associate director of the Center for Science and International Affairs of the Kennedy School of Government. He was also the founding co-editor of the quarterly journal International Security. He left Harvard for the University of Maryland and served as dean from 1986 to 1994. Under his leadership, the school grew enormously, tripling student enrollment and establishing four new research centers. Nacht also initiated a wide range of public programs, including a nationally -televised U.S. presidential primary debate in 1992. "Michael Nacht has an extraordinary record as the head of a distinguished public policy school at the University of Maryland," said UC Berkeley's Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Carol T. Christ. "He also has a great deal of experience in the federal government and a broadminded, generous personality that should make him an outstanding dean at Berkeley." Nacht's expertise is in U.S. national security policy and international affairs. He served from 1994 to 1997 as assistant director for Strategic and Eurasian Affairs of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in Washington, D.C. He led the agency's work on nuclear arms reduction negotiations with Russia and initiated nuclear arms control talks with China. He also participated in four summit meetings between President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and in one Clinton summit with China's President Jiang Zemin. Nacht is author or co-author of five books, including, most recently, "Beyond Government: Extending the Public Policy Debate in Emerging Democracies," published in 1995 with Professor Craufurd Goodwin of Duke University. He has also published more than 50 articles on international and security affairs and testified before Congress on subjects ranging from arms control to the supply and demand for scientists in the workplace. In addition to Columbia University, Nacht is a graduate of New York University (B.S., Aeronautics and Astronautics; M.S., Operations Research), Case Western Reserve University (M.S., Statistics) and the New School for Social Research in New York (M.A., Political Science). "It is a privilege and a challenge to receive this appointment," said Nacht. "I am joining a diamond of an academic institution and hope with the help of the faculty, staff, students and alumni to increase its luster even more." UC Berkeley's School of Public Policy was established in 1969 and ranks among the top public policy programs in the nation. Competition for admission to the school is keen, with about 10 applications for each available opening.