Several House masters told the Faculty Council Wednesday that they support establishing a new teaching position to help alleviate a teaching staff shortage.

William H. Bossert '59, master of Lowell House, Alan E. Heimert '49, master of Eliot House, and David J. Herlihy, master of Mather House, expressed support for a proposal now before the council which would create the new post of "teaching associate."

Not Tenured

These positions, which would not be considered a prelude to receiving tenure or, the Faculty here, would be filled by people who have received their doctoral degrees.

Supporters of the proposal, introduced to the council two weeks ago by William J. Skocpol, associate professor of Physics, say it would remedy the shortage of section leaders and tutors created in part by the shrinking enrollment in the graduate school in recent years.

The plan would also help "some of our best graduate students" find employment in a depressed academic job market, Bossert said.

Bossert also said he supports the proposal because it might help to "decouple the support of graduate education from undergraduate education."

"Too often we have graduate departments letting people in just to fulfill undergraduate teaching responsibilities," he said.

Big Pool

The proposal would create a larger pool of potential resident tutors, Bossert said, adding. "We (House masters) look on this as a way of keeping our best tutors around longer."

Although the council has not yet acted officially on the proposal, sources said yesterday most members favor the plan, which will go before the Faculty for consideration next fall.

Listening In

In other business, the council heard a report on the University's energy budget from Robert E. Kaufmann '62, associate dean of the Faculty for finance and administration.

Kaufmann presented figures showing that overall energy costs for the University, excluding the Medical School, have risen from $3 million a year in the early 1970s to an estimated $27 million in 1980-81.

Nasty Changes

Steam costs have increased from an average of 87 cents a unit in 1970-71 to $3.61 in 1978-79, Kaufmann said, adding that the University projects steam will cost $9.21 a unit next year if oil reaches $44 a barrel.

The energy costs are now so great that the University cannot consider conservation a second-level priority, he said. "Tinkering at the margins of conservation is not satisfactory," he added.