 His mother, daughter of a surgeon in St. Joseph, raised Carney and his two siblings as the family moved from one military posting to another.He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966 and the U.S. Foreign Service sent him on a brief sabbatical to study at Cornell University from 1975 until 1976, focusing on Southeast Asian studies as part of his career.Carney was a member of the board of the American Academy of Diplomacy and speaks Khmer, Thai and French fluently.