President Neil L. Rudenstine said in an interview this week that he wants to find a new dean for the Kennedy School within a few months.

The job is currently being held by Albert Carnesale, who also took over as provost for the University at the beginning of July. Carnesale, who was appointed dean of the Kennedy School in 1991, will go back and forth between the two jobs until a replacement is found.

Technically, there is no named search committee charged with finding a new Kennedy School dean--Rudenstine is officially in charge of picking Carnesale's successor.

But an advisory committee was announced in early June. Its members include: Graham T. Allison, Dillon professor of government; Alan Altshuler,, academic dean at the Kennedy School; Francis M. Bator, Littauer professor of Political economy; Richard E. Cavanagh, executive dean of the Kennedy School; Edith M. Stokey, associate academic dean at the Kennedy School; Julie B. Wilson, secretary of the Kennedy School; and Richard J. Zeckhauser, Ramsey professor of political economy.

A source who attended an open staff meeting Carnesale at the Kennedy School in late July said that Carnesale echoed Rudenstine's desire to find a new dean relatively quickly, for the sake of both him and of the school.

The deanship search comes on the heels of a relatively quick search to replace former provost Jerry R. Green, who announced his departure in April. Carnesale was officially named Green's successor less than two months later, in May.

Rudenstine said Wednesday that the search is ongoing.

"We're certainly targeting and hoping for the fall, as opposed to the winter or the spring," he said, "Whether we can pull it off or not we'll see, but that's the hope."

He said that the priority is to find a new dean before Carnesale gets stretched too thin filling both posts.

"The deanship search is certainly well underway. We've had several meetings this summer and we will have at least two more this month," Rudenstine said. "What the timetable is I don't know, but we're moving...ahead fairly expeditiously."

He said that Carnesale has been "super" as provost so far.

"It's just been a continuation of what was a very good working relationship. And I think he's excited by the job and he's very engaged," Rudenstine said.

Rudenstine did not name any possible successors to Carnesale's post. The source who attended the staff meeting, however, said that some names that have been talked about around the School as possibilites are Wiener Professor of Public Policy David T. Ellwood and Dillon Professor of International Affairs Joseph S.

Nye, both currently serving in the Clintonadministration.

Rudenstine did list some characteristics hethinks a new dean must possess.

"You need someone...who knows what an academicinstitution is and can therefore think hard aboutprograms and follow the appointments and thestandards," he said, "but who at the same time canhandle all the other roles as dean very publiclyover a very visible institution and have anoutside role and being a good administrator on theside."

And he made it clear who his template was for acandidate possessing this "complicated set ofskills."

"Somebody just like Al," Rudenstine said