The Harvard Corporation will decide early this week on the next director of personnel administration, President Bok said yesterday.

Bok said he has interviewed all the five candidates nominated by a search committee of two professors who deal with personnel matters, an associate dean of education, and the acting personnel director, Thomas O'Brien.

O'Brien became acting personnel director when John B. Butler left that postion last year to assume the post of director of personnel policy and planning.

O'Brien said Thursday although the search committee has considered almost 300 applicants in the past four months, they "had a difficult time in terms of finding qualified candidates." He added that the committee "had to do active recruiting on its own."

The committee has been advertising extensively to fill this position, seeking someone "who can contribute meaningfully to policy formulation in the area of personnel policy," O'Brien said.

Bok said yesterday that "several women and minority candidates within and without the University" have been under consideration for the position.