Financial concerns and administrative cutbacks dominated discussion at yesterday's meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) in University Hall.

Humanities professors expressed concern over the content of Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles' annual letter on the financial status of the Faculty, which was released last Thursday.

They objected to the proposed 10-percent reduction in full-time administrative staff that will follow the opening of the new humanities complex in 1997.

"A 10-percent reduction in staff means fewer services available to the faculty," said Susan R. Suleiman, professor of Romance Languages and Comparative Literature. "This may not be the best model."

Knowles replied that a consolidated and specialized administrative staff would better serve the faculty.

In addition to addressing administrative concerns, Knowles described the financial rehabilitation of FAS but added that the future may be daunting.

In the past five years, FAS has reduced its budget deficit from an all-time high of 7.5 percent in 1990 to just 0.3 percent this year, Knowles proudly told the Faculty.

"This is an ongoing process that started with the major deficits of five years ago," he said. While Knowles expressed satisfaction at reducing the FAS deficit, he said he was concerned about the reduction of grants from government agencies for research.

And members of Congress are now not only targeting federal research grants but are proposing to slash some federal financial aid as well.

At the meeting, Undergraduate Council president Robert M. Hyman '98-'97 expressed concern over proposed federal and state budget cuts in student aid and their impact on financial aid at Harvard.

But Knowles yesterday assured the Faculty of his commitment to the preservation of financial aid.

"It is unambiguously the intention of this institution to maintain not only need-blind admissions but also need-based aid," he said.

Knowles' presentation touched upon a variety of non-financial issues including technology, the number of tenured female faculty members and class size.

In particular, Knowles said, "I should like to reduce section size, even though that could have substantial financial consequences."

Nomination Process Changed