McAfee says the Lowell group interviewed all 12candidates over 14 days last year, and they spenttime after each interview drawing up initialreactions to the candidates.

Another search committee participant last yearsaid he pegged the total time commitment at about50 hours--and said the group met with and discussedsome candidates for upwards of two and a halfhours.

OVER DINNER

Meals with the candidates are often the firstpoint of interaction with search committee membersusing a shared supper as chance to judge eachcandidate on a number of levels.

In general, participants says they hoped toglean from the interview the prospective masters'personalities, possible time commitment to thejob, hopes for the position and interaction withstudents, among other things.

They also considered each candidate's maritalstatus, the relationship between the potentialmaster and co-master, and whether the candidatehad children, although all involved say none ofthese criteria were a determining factor.

Weld Professors of Law Charles R. Nesson '60,who says that three years ago he and his wife Fernwere offered the Pforzheimer House--then NorthHouse--mastership, recalls having dinner in theHouse with only a House tutor and Lewis, who wasoverseeing his first master search.

Nesson, who turned down the offer and who triedunsuccessfully to replace the Kielys this yearsays he doesn't remember meeting with an officialsearch committee.

This year, the Adams House searchcommittee--students included--questioned Nessonextensively at their dinner meeting with him.

"The dinner went well. Fern thought I couldhave been more enthusiastic, but I thought I waspretty enthusiastic," Nesson says, adding thatthe questions at dinner aimed to determine "if wewere authoritarian types or not, if we'd be eatingthere or not, if we were going to make theenvironment flower."

But according to Associate Dean for the HouseSystem Thomas A. Dingman '67, the committees arealso charged with looking for that extra somethingthat makes for a great master.

"The right person could do this job withoutbeing special," Dingman says.

By the same token, McAfee says there's anothercomponent to a master than just doing the job.

"You're going to have a dammed cold House ifthe master just follows the job description," hesays. "You realize that it is that something`more' that brings the House warmth."

That "more," he suggests, occurs in moresubjective characteristics like generosity,friendliness and a good understanding of theacademic side of residential community, not tomention whether they can have fun.