When A Michael Spence took over as Dean of the aculty last July, most people agreed that filling the shoes of former dean--and originator of the Core Curriculum--Henry Rosovsky would be a tall order.

But, while most department chairman agree that Spence has yet to initiate any major changes, they say that he has land the foundation for a number of his own innovations

More specifically, since taking over at the helm of the Faculty he has prioritized three issues.

* a review of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

* an analysis of the problems facing junior faculty.

* the computerization of the University.

Spence has spent a large part of his time this year meeting the Faculty members, especially the department chairmen. In fact, he said that he plans to meet personally with each of the more than 300 tenured members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

"I have been getting to know my colleagues, the staft, and the departments so that I can be helpful to them in accomplishing their educational and scholarly goals," he said.

In addition, the former Rhodes Scholar and Princeton hockey player said that has also been meeting with groups of junior faculty members at the Faculty Club to discuss their concerns and problems.

"He's been spending a great deal of time educating himself in the biological sciences, and he's been doing a great job at that," said Richard M. Losick, chairman of the Cellular and Developmental Biology Department

Chairman of the Geology Department Adam M. Dziewonski said that Spence spent a day with the Geology Department listening to their concerns and examining their research. "It's not the kind of things deans used to do," he added.

Moreover, Spence has reinstituted regular monthly meetings between the dean of the Faculty and all the department chairmen--a tradition which Rosovsky had let slide.

"It's an attempt to set up a useful forum for the department chairmen to find what problems other departments face," said Dziewonski.

"One can see already that this will be a productive forum," said Albert Henrichs, chairman of the Classics Department.

"I met the other department chairs for the first time and learned what their problems were. It gave me a better perspective of how our department was run in relation to other departments, especially the sciences," Henrichs said.