President Bok will announce the appointment of an acting dean of the Faculty today.

A senior Administration official told The Crimson last night that an announcement is imminent. The official declined to reveal the identity of the new dean, but said he expected that the position would be filled for about three months on a caretaker basis.

The source added that another administrator is expected to assume some of the responsibilities of the deanship--those pertaining to Faculty legislation--thus freeing the acting dean for exclusively administrative duties.

The position became vacant last month when John T. Dunlop resigned to become director of the Cost of Living Council in the Nixon Administration.

Dunlop's resignation became effective yesterday, but he will continue to return to Cambridge on weekends to ease the transition process.

Speculation

In selecting an acting dean, Bok will insure that the widely-ranging responsibilities of the position are met while a permanent dean is selected.

After Dunlop's resignation, several high-level officials speculated that if Bok decided to pick a caretaker for the post, he would select a senior Faculty member held in esteem by many segments of the University.

Following this logic, speculation centered on John K. Fairbank '29, Higginson Professor of History, or Edwin O. Reischauer, University Professor, as probable acting deans.