Frank J. Macchiarola (April 7, 1941 – December 18, 2012), was an American academic. His interests and expertise spanned the legal, academic, executive management and public service areas. From 2008 until his death, Macchiarola was the Chancellor of St. Francis College, after having been the college's president from 1996 to 2008.
Education
Macchiarola grew up in
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the north, ...
, obtained his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Career
Macchiarola held various positions at New York City educational institutions, including Columbia University,
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU on the Yeshiva Universit ...
,
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, and St. Francis College. Prior to holding the aforementioned positions at Higher Education institutions, Macchiarola served as the
New York City School Chancellor
The New York City Schools Chancellor (formally "Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education") is the head of the New York City Department of Education. The Chancellor is appointed by the Mayor, and serves at the Mayor's pleasure. The ...
, where he supervised the educational program of over a million students. During that time, 1978–1983, he also was the deputy director of the New York State Emergency Financial Control Board for New York City. Next, Macchiarola was president and chief executive officer of the
New York City Partnership
The Partnership for New York City, formerly called the New York City Partnership, is a nonprofit membership organization consisting of a select group of nearly three hundred CEOs ("Partners") from New York City's top corporate, investment and entre ...
, Inc., from 1983 to 1988.
Concurrently, Macchiarola was a faculty member at the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
from 1964 to 1985, where he served at
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
,
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...
, and City University Graduate School, leaving as professor of political science on the doctoral faculty. He served as vice president of the City University Graduate School and as director of the CUNY Urban Academy for Management. From 1988 to 1991, he served as professor of business in Columbia University's Graduate School of Business with teaching and research interests in business law, government regulation of business and nonprofit management. He also served as chair of the advisory committee of the Columbia Business School Community Collaboration and served on doctoral panels in political science and education. He was also a professor of education at Teachers College of Columbia University and has been president of The Academy of Political Science. After leaving Columbia University, Macchiarola served as dean and professor of law at the
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University. Located in New York City and founded in 1976, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. p ...
of
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU on the Yeshiva Universit ...
where he taught Legal Process, Contracts and Legal Writing, from 1991 to 1996. In July 2008, he assumed the position of Chancellor of St. Francis College after being the colleges president from 1996 to 2008.
St. Francis College
During his tenure as President of St. Francis College, Macchiarola oversaw the construction of the Anthony J. Genovesi Athletic Center and the Academic Center which was later renamed to the Frank & Mary Macchiarola Center in his and his wife's honor. He also oversaw the implementation of a 5-year combined Accounting B.S./M.S. program.
Public service
In the public service arena, Macchiarola was appointed in 2003 by Mayor
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
to serve as chair of the
New York City Charter Revision Commission
The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix. He was also appointed by Governor
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...
to the New York State Commission on Education Reform, he served as chairman of the New York State Higher Education Services Commission. At Mayor Bloomberg's request, in 2003, Macchiarola mediated the strike of Local 802 Musicians Union against the
League of American Theatres and Producers
The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include theat ...
, which had shut down Broadway. He was also chair of the New York City Districting Commission, which drew City Council District lines for the 1991 election and acted as special referee in the case that drew New York State congressional lines for the 1992 election. He was a member of President Jimmy Carter's Impact Aid Commission, New York City Charter Revision Commissions,
New York City Campaign Finance Board
The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is an independent New York City agency that serves to provide campaign finance information to the public, enable more citizens to run for office by granting public matching funds, increase voter part ...
, New York City Water Board and New York City Tax Study Commission. He was a member of numerous civic boards including the Academy of Political Science, Manhattan Institute, Brooklyn Children's Museum, and New York City Police Department Board of Visitors. Since 2004, he was a member of the American Bar Association Committee on Law School Accreditation and was a consultant to and director of several corporations, and sat on the board of the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust. He served as counsel to the New York State Assembly Committee on Codes and Special Counsel and director of the Housing Study Group of the Scott Commission.
Practice
Macchiarola served as special counsel to the New York Law firm of Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP.
Politics
Macchiarola self-identified as a ''
Blue Dog Democrat
The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative ...
''.
Death and commemoration
Macchiarola died in December 2012 from liver cancer. In 2014, the former
Sheepshead Bay High School
Sheepshead Bay High School is a defunct public high school in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Closed in 2016, the building currently operates as Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex, housing several smaller high schools.
History
Sheepshe ...
in Brooklyn, NY was renamed in his honor, "the Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex".
Publications
He was author of a number of books including three co-written with
Thomas Hauser
Thomas C. Hauser (born February 27, 1946) is an American author known for his biographies and novels.
Biography
Hauser graduated from Columbia College in 1967 and Columbia Law School in 1970.
He made his debut as a writer in 1978 with ''The ...