"You can't measure my participation simply byhow many hours I spend at the school," Carnesalesaid yesterday. "I tend to work out of my officeat Massachusetts Hall."

He said that he spent considerably less time atthe Kennedy School during the three months heserved as acting president, but he is now spendingmore time there as the end of the academic yearapproaches.

Carnesale chairs faculty meetings, but much ofthe day-to-day running of the school has beenturned over to various other administrators.

Carnesale said that the schoolh has risen tothe demands of living under a part-time dean.

"In this period the people at the KennedySchool--faculty, staff and students--haveunderstood the reasons for my not being able to bethere full time," the provost said. "They havesimply raised the levels of responsibility theytake upon themselves. People have just beenterrific."

But nonetheless, professors would like to seean appointment made soon.

"It's time we had...sustained leadership,"Lawrence said. "It's not a permanent, sustainablestate. No one denies it would be much better if wehad a [permanent appointment]."

Carnesale himself acknowledges that thesituation cannot continue for an extended periodwithout negatively impacting the school.

"Obviously you can't go for an indefiniteperiod without a dean," Carnesale said yesterday.

"Going on and living up to full potential aretwo different things," Lawrence said. "Like achicken without a head, it could keep running."

New faculty members need to have more contactwith the dean, the professor said.

"There are lots of decisions," Lawrence said.[New professors] need to believe they haveimplicit and explicit contracts with the dean.That's hard for a temporary dean.