St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, announced that its chancellor, past-president and alumnus, Frank J. Macchiarola ’62 died on Tuesday, Dec. 18, after an extended illness. He was 71.
Dr. Macchiarola returned to his alma mater, St. Francis College, as its president in 1996. The college flourished under his 12-year tenure.
Under his leadership, the college completed a successful $40 million fundraising campaign which resulted in the construction of what is now called the Frank and Mary Macchiarola Academic Center, a 35,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building with a three-floor library, black box theater, HDTV studio and multimedia classroom. That money was also used to build the Anthony J. Genovesi Center, a multipurpose athletic facility that hosts home volleyball matches, intramurals, lectures and special events.  Dr. Macchiarola has held a number of other positions in public and private roles, perhaps most prominently serving for five years as New York City Public Schools Chancellor under Mayor Ed Koch, who often proclaimed that he was the “finest Schools Chancellor New York City ever had.”
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio paid tribute to him by saying, “Dr. Frank Macchiarola devoted almost his entire adult life to serving the people of the city of New York. What motivated him was his deep Catholic faith and love of Jesus Christ. He will long be remembered in the diocese as a model Catholic layman. Our thoughts and prayers go to his wife Mary, and his children at this time.”
Dr. Macchiarola also served five years as dean of Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he also taught. He was also a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and at City University of New York (CUNY) for more than 20 years. He served as president and CEO of the New York City Partnership, Inc., and deputy director of the N.Y.S. Emergency Financial Control Board for New York City.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Dr. Macchiarola to serve as chair of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. He mediated the 2003 strike of Local 802 Musicians Union against the League of American Theaters and Producers; chaired the NYC Districting Commission, which drew City Council District lines for the 1991 election; and acted as special referee in the case that drew N.Y.S. congressional lines for the 1992 election.
Earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI bestowed upon him the Papal Honor of Knight Commander of the Holy Order of St. Gregory the Great. Among other honors, he received the  St. Thomas More Award from the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Catholic Teachers Association and the Cavalieri, Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy.
Dr. Macchiarola was waked at St. Francis College. A funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop DiMarzio on Friday, Dec. 21, at 10 a.m. at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn. 
Burial took place in Holy Cross Cemetery, Flatbush.  
He is survived by his wife Mary T.; his three sons Joseph, Michael and Frank; his seven grandchildren; and his brothers Joseph, James and Henry.