Charles DeCarlo, who served as the seventh president of Sarah Lawrence College from 1969 to 1981, died on November 24, 2004, at the age of 83. DeCarlo brought to the College a rare blend of financial and administrative acumen—transforming the face of the campus and revitalizing the College’s financial underpinnings—and an understanding of and appreciation for Sarah Lawrence’s unique liberal arts pedagogy. He often praised Sarah Lawrence for being small “in a time when smallness is not valued,” and said that its educational practices could, “like a powerful dye, pervade a larger world with a richer light.”

DeCarlo installed a modern budget system and was responsible for expanding the size of the campus. He built the award-winning Esther Raushenbush Library, doubled the size of the Performing Arts Center, increased dormitory capacity by 25 percent with the construction of Andrews Court and Slonim Woods, and purchased Slonim (which houses graduate programs and the Center for Continuing Education), Swinford and Lyles.

“We are sad to have lost in Charles DeCarlo, a president emeritus who cared deeply about the Sarah Lawrence community, long past his service to the school,” said President Michele Myers. “He will be missed for his joie de vivre, his wit and his dedication to the College.”

Before coming to Sarah Lawrence, DeCarlo was an executive at IBM, where he worked as the director of automation research. He was very concerned with the effect of science and technology on society, and argued that one goal of liberal arts education was “to guarantee that the future will be both technological and humane.”

Charles Raymond DeCarlo, the son of an Italian immigrant, was born in 1921 in Pittsburgh. He earned a B.A. in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1943, then served in the Navy during World War II. After the war, he returned to his hometown and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from his alma mater. Following his graduation, he joined IBM and rose quickly through its ranks.

Before coming to Sarah Lawrence, DeCarlo coauthored Education in Business and Industry. He taught mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh and the American Studies Institute in Salzburg, was a research associate for Harvard and served as a trustee of Bank Street College of Education.

DeCarlo was often called a Renaissance man, switching easily between discussing investments, theorizing about the arts and humanities, and crafting poetry. A celebrated cook, his cuisine was featured in the Summer 2003 issue of Sarah Lawrence. In a follow-up letter to the editor, DeCarlo wrote, “…to set the record straight, I’ve never claimed to be a gourmet cook. Rather, I find the joy of cooking in making a meal out of what’s left in the refrigerator. The real test is in revival, not creation.”

The College sends its condolences to his wife, Dorothy, and to his family: daughter Tessa’71 and her husband, Dan Goldberg ’71, of Napa, California, and their children, Lina Goldberg and Max Goldberg; daughter Rachel ’82, of Albany, California; daughter Elisa and her husband, Jeffrey Shames, of Manhattan; and son Dean ’84 and his wife, Jane Beal, and their two children, Lucy and Clara, all of Manhattan.