President Neil L. Rudenstine has pared down the list of contenders for the dean of the Graduate School of Design to three candidates, officials said yesterday.

Rudenstine is expected to make the decision within the next week, but in a recent interview he indicated that the appointment could be made as early as tomorrow.

Outgoing Design School Dean Gerald M. McCue said yesterday that a tentative list of candidates has been trimmed to three.

While McCue refused to release the names of those candidates, other Design School faculty members confirmed that all three individuals are from inside the graduate school.

Faculty members speculated that Jorge S. Silvetti, Robinson professor of architecture, Peter G. Rowe, Garbe professor of architecture and urban design, and William J. Mitchell, Travelstead professor of architecture might be included on the short list.

Silvetti is a world-renowned theorist who last year won the Award in Architecture from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Rowe, who previously served as director of Rice University's School of Architecture, is an expert in the relationship between urban design and resource conservation.

Both Silvetti and Rowe could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Mitchell specializes on the applications of computers in architecture and has written several books on the subject.

Contacted by The Crimson last night, Mitchell chuckled and said he would not comment on rumors that he was one of the three remaining candidates.

But Mitchell added that he thought the matter was close to being resolved and that the selection of an internal candidate was "likely."

Earlier in the search process, outside candidates had been considered, according to search committee member M. David Lee.

Faculty members interviewed yesterday said they believed the post would go to an architect and a candidate with strong fundraising abilities.

Several professors who were mentioned as possible candidates for the post said yesterday they were not in the running.

Those scholars include Norton Professor of Regional Planning Francois C.D. Vigier, Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design William A. Doebele and Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy in the Fieldof Transportation Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez.

The deanship is one of three major appointmentsthat Rudenstine is expected to make in the nextfew weeks. The provost, an new University-wideacademic officer, and the Dean of the GraduateSchool of Education are the other two.