Meet the Carnesales
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 14, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 Chancellor Albert Carnesale enjoys the
day with his new wife, Robin Gerber. Meeting
through mutual friends, they were married April 6 ““ 15 months
after their first date ““ and spent a two-day honeymoon in Los
Cabos, Mexico. The couple will live in the Chancellor’s Residence
on campus along with their dog, Pisces.
By Christian Mignot
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA’s most eligible bachelor recently decided to call it
a day on the marriage market, hanging up the velvet slippers and
silk pajamas of bachelorship for good.
Chancellor Albert Carnesale, 65, was married to Robin Gerber,
56, on April 6 on the patio of the Chancellor’s Residence on
campus, just as the 7 p.m. sun set over the crystalline swimming
pool and well-manicured gardens.
The wedding was a simple, private affair, with only the
couple’s children and their spouses present to witness the
ceremony, along with the presider Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller.
Gerber, who owns a public relations firm in Westwood, was
introduced to the chancellor by mutual friends at a dinner. The
couple first dated on Jan. 6, 2001 ““ exactly 15 months before
they married.
According to the newlyweds, the decision to marry was an easy
one ““ the difficult part was finding the time to accomplish
the deed.
“It was not a matter of whether we were to get married,
but rather when,” Carnesale said. “Both of us are
extremely busy with our professional lives.”
 NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin The married couple’s dog,
Pisces, referred to as "Killer" by the chancellor, is a new
addition to the UCLA family.
The couple spent a brief two-day honeymoon in Los Cabos, Mexico,
leaving at night on April 7, and returning on Tuesday. The short
break featured “no cell phones.” They intend to take a
longer trip in the summer, Carnesale said.
Carnesale and Gerber both have children from their previous
marriages. Gerber has two sons: Ross, 31, and Seth, 29; Carnesale
has a 34-year-old son, Keith, and a 32-year-old daughter, Kim.
The chancellor said after his divorce that marriage was not in
the cards. He was always open to the idea of a second marriage, but
not committed to it, he said.
“I married Robin because I love her and would like to
spend the rest of my life with her,” he said, as the couple
exchanged a glance, sitting side-by-side in the lounge of their
residence. “I was lucky to catch her in a weak moment and
asked her before she thought about it too much.”
Carnesale agreed his new marital status may cause the public to
view him differently.
“I do think in marriage that there is a different kind of
completeness, both on personal and professional levels,” he
said. “People come to know your spouse and feel (a) much
greater personal connection with you.”
He added that marriage will now allow him to form relationships
with other couples, which he would be more unlikely to do if he
were single.
Gerber also faces a new role through her marriage. As in the
past, many chancellors’ wives felt they occupy a position
similar to that of the first lady.
“I love UCLA and have the greatest desire to
participate,” Gerber said. “I want to share my talents
and skills to enhance what I already consider to be the greatest
university in the world.”
Married life will impose some changes on the chancellor’s
habits as a bachelor, especially when it comes to food.
 Chancellor Albert Carnesale and Robin Gerber married on
April 6.
Carnesale said he may find that such mealtime favorites as tuna
fish in a bowl and bacon and eggs be slowly replaced on the
household menus with his new spouse’s gourmet cuisine.
“My father owned a restaurant, so I love cooking;
it’s one of my hobbies,” Gerber said.
Gerber assured that the Chancellor Residence’s
refrigerator ““ not particularly known for its abundance of
health products ““ would soon be stocked with plenty of
greens.
“Robin loves to cook, and I love to eat, so we’re a
perfect match,” Carnesale said.
In addition, Carnesale must acquaint himself with a second
individual moving in with him ““ Gerber’s tiny white
Maltese named Pisces.
The chancellor has also gained a walking partner for his Sunday
morning workouts at Drake Stadium, and the couple plans to attend
all home football and basketball games together.
With a new first lady, a new family dog and even a large
state-owned house to live in, the chancellorship has never looked
more like a U.S. presidency.
