Previously the provost was a second step in the ladder of central administration hierarchy, another layer of bureaucracy. Now the provost and the president share the same box on the official Mass. Hall organizational chart.

"That was not just a mechanical and visual solution," says Associate Provost Dennis F. Thompson. "It actually represents the idea that people would come to either the president or the provost for decisions on most questions."

This architecture means that the division of labor between Harvard's top two administrators must be subtle and bridged by clear lines of communication.

Carnesale's exclusive duties include: planning the central budget; managing University Health Services and University Information Systems; directing Harvard's five inter-faculty initiatives; and developing Harvard's benefits, labor and retirement policies.

His tasks exceed those of provosts at most universities, where the position is mainly academic, and after Rudenstine returned from his leave of absence in the fall of 1994, Carnesale picked up a number of other duties, particularly fundraising.

In contrast, Rudenstine typically handles ad hoc tenure committees, fundraising and the task of being the University's chief ambassador to the outside world.

But there is far from a territorial allotment of jobs: Carnesale and Rudenstine consult often. If Harvard weren't the wealthiest University in the world and wasn't able to afford frequent replacements, the carpet between Carnesale and Rudenstine's offices would be worn thin. Rudenstine says that the two visit each other three or four times a day and often talk on the phone.

"The presidency is a very big job for [Rudenstine], and to have help offloading things, it spreads a very big job out," says Jerome T. Murphy, dean of Graduate School of Education.

Synergy

The close working relationship would have fallen apart, say some, without a jigsaw fit between the two chief administrators' philosophies of leadership.

Rudenstine is an academic, a professor of poetry, and he tackles issues abstractly, with a vision of the greater picture. Carnesale is a nuclear engineer, known best for his ability to devour problems as they land on his plate, one after another.

"[Rudenstine] tends to be reflective and conceptual, he wants to take in all the nuances of the problem. [Carnesale] wants to look at the bottom line, what the operational procedure should be," Thompson says, adding that there is some overlap between the two.

The combination is complementary, resulting in a more well-rounded executive authority.

"It's a real partnership," says Rudenstine, who was provost at Princeton earlier in his career.

In choosing his next provost, Rudenstine made his decision quickly. Typical Rudenstine searches for deans or University vice-presidents have stretched for months, some for over a year, but Fineburg was appointed a mere 28 days after Carnesale stepped down. Rudenstine also left nothing to chance, considering only three high-ranking officials in the University and considering no one who did not already possess a tremendous working knowledge of the University.