Ex-Professor Returns to CSUN as Dean

Former Cal State Northridge professor Laurence Caretto will return to the university in January as its new dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, campus officials said.

Caretto will officially replace acting dean Dorothy Miller on Jan. 1.

“He brings a rich background in both academia and private industry to the demanding position,” Louanne Kennedy, CSUN’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, said in a prepared statement. “He is a welcomed addition to the university’s family.”

Caretto, who holds bachelor and master’s degrees and a doctorate, all from UCLA, taught engineering at CSUN from 1971 to 1992. He served as associate dean from 1989 to 1992 before leaving to become a partner at Sierra Research, a firm that helps corporations meet government air-quality and emission standards.

“I left five years ago because I had an opportunity to enter the professional world,” Caretto said. “I had been an academic most of my life, and I thought it was something I would like to try. I think I like being an academic more.”

Caretto has specialized in thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, chemical reaction engineering and computational fluid dynamics. He has served on the governor-appointed California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District board.