"I'm not sure I would give you the number [ofweeks before the search committee announces itsdecision] if I knew it, for fear it might change,"Carnesale said. "But the fact is, I don't knowit."

Carnesale also criticized a new bill introducedthis week in Congress that would cut federalfunding to any university that restricts ROTCprograms on its campus. He said that thegovernment is not interested in "diseconomies ofsmaller scale," in maintaining ROTC programs onevery campus, since budget constraints have forcedmany smaller programs to shut down.

"I think the bill is really somewhatmisinformed," Carnesale said.

Carnesale also discussed Rudenstine's recentappearance on the cover of Newsweek. Thepresident was portrayed in a weary pose, setagainst the headline "Exhausted."

"I don't believe it's detrimental to theUniversity or to him," Carnesale said. "Indeed,the article is about a national problem in theUnited States. In this article, it's more clearthat the problem is [something] that singleparents have...than that it was about universitypresidents."

Carnesale said he believed that editors of themagazine were upset about being denied the chanceto interview the president.

"I think part of it is the question of where doyou draw the line [with interviews]," the provostsaid. "Now, since Newsweek was on the otherside of the line, they're angry. I under stand,but I actually don't think we made a mistake."

Finally, the provost refused to comment onallegations made by a security guard that theguard's recent suspension was motivated by aUniversity vendetta against him.

The guard, Steven G. McCombe, has accused theUniversity of fabricating charges of racialharassment against him because of his role inrepresenting University security guards.

Jonathan N. Axelrod contributed to thereporting of this story