Teaching fellows said they have been forced to hold office hours in the Greenhouse Cafe and other places in the Square in order to find room and privacy.

The lack of space today could have severe implications by restricting future growth of the FAS, which is twice the size of the next largest Harvard faculty.

"This faculty is not expanding or growing at the moment," Rotner says. "We may have wonderful ideas and the money, but the main constraint is land."

In addition, a 1986 audit of the FAS physical plant found that each of its 242 buildings is in need of renovations. Administrators estimate cost of the repairs in the hundreds of millions. An added problem is that the exteriors of much of the property cannot be altered because the structures are historical landmarks.

Rotner says FAS has no plans to purchase additional property. Instead, he said the administration will try to use what land and office space it has more efficiently.

"We hope to come out with a plan that makes the best possible use of the space we have," Rotner says.

Parsons has divided his staff into three units in order to deal more effectively with plans, construction and operation of the physical plant.

Renovations to the Busch-Reisinger Museum, scheduled to be completed in about a year, will alleviate some of the burden and free up space elsewhere, Parsons says.

There is one shared twinkle in many administrators' and department members' eyes. The Lowell Lecture Hall, located across the street from the Science Center, is large and currently unoccupied.

"Ultimately, when the Faculty of Arts and Sciences does build a new building, that's the best site near the Yard," Parsons says.

The Undergraduate Council last year attempted to gain administration approval to convert the building into a student center but failed. Others have also approached FAS with "ideas for the perfect use of that site," Parsons says.