Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Sally Falk Moore resigned Tuesday as the master of Dunster House because she and her husband want to make time for academic work, she said yesterday.

Moore distributed a letter yesterday to Dunster residents explaining that she and Co-Master D. Cresap Moore "must get on with our own work and our lives in ways which the mastership would not allow." Moore resigned as GSAS dean last year.

"There comes a time for this and a time for that, and it was time for us to leave," said Cresap Moore.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 said the Moores told him on Tuesday that they would step down. He said he had expected them to remain in the post for five more years. The Moores renewed their five-year appointment last fall.

But Cresap Moore said family problems had "opened the memory of our own mortality," forcing them to give up the post.

He said that one reason they had decided to resign was that the two plan to travel extensively over the next few years. He said that if they remained at Dunster House, students would have had to deal with acting masters from time to time.

"We are showing our respect for the house by leaving," he said.

And, Cresap Moore said, being a master is "also tiring, especially for someone in their 60s."

Last year, two masters--Myra A. Mayman of Cabot House and Arthur L. Loeb of Dudley--resigned. But Jewett said he did not think the Moores' resignation was part of a trend.

"[Losing] one or two a year is pretty standard," Jewett said. "The ones that left had been doing it for a pretty long time."

Jewett said he has not appointed a search committee to look for a new master.

Dunster senior tutor Jeffrey Wolcowitz said he thought students will have a significant say in the choice of a new master. He said a committee of four to six representatives from the house, including one member of the Senior Common Room, will present Jewett with a list of candidates and desired characteristics.

President Bok has the final word on the appointment of masters.

Sally Moore, who is also a professor of anthropology, said it was "understood" that this year would be her last as dean. She said next year, when she had planned to be on sabbatical from Dunster House, she will do anthropological work in East Africa. And Cresap Moore said he would like to do some historical work in England.

Jewett said the Moores were "wonderful masters" who were popular in the house. He added that their decision to leave was personal, saying they had no bad feelings about Dunster House.