Every Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m., the chief executive officer of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) meets with his kitchen cabinet.

The Committee of Deans, an advisory board appointed by Dean of the Faculty A. Michael Spence, is the inner loop of FAS. And while its actions and influence may remain outside the public eye, this low-profile group continues to maintain a high-profile membership.

Indeed, it's hardly suprising that only one week after Spence announced plans to leave Harvard, Faculty watchers are looking to members of this inner cabinet for possible interim--or even permanent--successors.

The Committee was first convened by Spence's predecessor as dean, Geyser University Professor Henry Rosovsky, who said he set it up as a "sounding board."

Since then, it has shifted its emphasis considerably. Once merely an advisory council for the dean, this cabinet has taken on more extended responsibilities.

The Spence committee has increasingly worked on policy development, and has provided an important link between the administration and academia. Aside from Spence and his two top administrators--Associate Dean for Administration Robert A. Rotner and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Phyllis Keller--eight "academic deans" now sit on this inner council.

As both administrators and teacher/scholars, these senior professors have been essential to Spence's plans for FAS, helping him to establish grass roots faculty support for a number of longterm and highly ambitious projects.

For instance, since the economist took office six years ago, the Committee has begun to review promotions and examine junior faculty evaluations in an effort to increase tenure promotions from within the University--long a priority of the dean.

"The most important thing to do in improving junior faculty promotions is to get an understanding of the Faculty at large--especially senior faculty," says Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Brendan A. Maher, considered a top contender for interim dean.

"There's a very substantive lag in the development of this policy," Maher says, adding, "you can shorten that if there are members of the Faculty in on the [high-level] discussions."

Dean of the Division of Applied Science Paul C. Martin '52, a long-time member of the dean's committee, also points to junior faculty promotions as a central concern of the Spence administration. And he says it is one in which the academic deans can have considerable influence and offer expertise.

Balancing scholarship and teaching along with administrative tasks, these advisor-professors have been Spence's main links to his several hundred member faculty.

"He's done a very good thing," Maher says. "He has decreased the sharp dividing line between who is a faculty member and who is an administrator."

The eight academic deans on the Committee all have appointments in their respective departments. And although Martin, like Keller, has been on the committee since Rosovsky's administration, most of the part-time associate deans maintain their positions for three-year terms.

While some academic deans--like Martin and Maher--have specific "portfolios" which outline their job descriptions and responsibilities, others maintain positions as general representatives from the senior faculty.