Charles E. Young, M.A. '57, Ph.D. '60

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Charles E. Young, M.A. '57, Ph.D. '60, who became UCLA chancellor in 1968 at age 36 and is, in the words of Chancellor Gene Block, "Perhaps more than any other individual, the one responsible for UCLA’s remarkable ascent over the course of the last half-century," died of natural causes on Sunday, Oct. 22, at his home in Sonoma, California. He was 91.

In a message to the Bruin community announcing Young's passing, Block wrote, "Many members of today’s UCLA community may only know Chuck as the namesake of the Young Research Library and the road that winds through much of our campus. But whether or not you were acquainted with him personally, I am certain that you have felt Chuck’s influence upon our university...

"In his inaugural address to the Academic Senate in 1968, Chuck said that he hoped to take UCLA “from the second level of good universities to the first rank of excellent universities.” He accomplished this goal, beyond a doubt. In doing so, he vastly expanded access to a high-quality education in California, facilitated world-changing research achievements and did much to advance the common good. He will be greatly missed, though his legacy surely lives on."

Young, who earned his graduate degrees in political science, remains the youngest chancellor ever appointed in the UC system and is the only UCLA alumnus to hold the the campus' top position.

Read the complete UCLA Newsroom obituary.