A year ago, Dean of the Kennedy School Albert Carnesale donned a second hat as University provost.

Last fall, he took on a third: a three-month tenure as acting president.

When President Neil L. Rudenstine returned from a medical leave in February, Carnesale returned to his post as provost.

Although it has been nearly a year since Carnesale began shuttling back and forth between his Massachusetts Hall office and his Kennedy School of Government office, university officials still have not found a new dean to replace him.

Professor commend Carnesale's efforts in carrying out both jobs.

"I think Al Carnesale has done a remarkable job of simultaneously fulfilling his roles as dean of the Kennedy School and provost of the University," said Roger B. Porter, IBM professor of business and government.

Last spring, Kennedy School professors lamented Carnesale's impending exit, which many predicted would continue a pattern of instability.

Carnesale, who was appointed dean of the Kennedy School in 1991, is the third administrator named to head the school since 1990.

"I think it is a problem when leadership in any of the schools turns over that rapidly," Whitehead Professor of Political Philosophy Dennis F. Thompson said at the time.

"Particularly in a school like the Kennedy School, that's still defining its identity," Thompson added.

Professors credited Carnesale with turning the school around. Prior to Carnesale's leadership, the faculty was divided and directionless--plagued by low morale and a lack of a unifying vision, consequences of an expansion in the 1980s that occurred too rapidly.

By continuing in his position as dean, Carnesale has managed to keep the ship on course, professor say.

"We've done some remarkable things this year, particularly in the area of faculty appointments," Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment Robert Z. Lawrence said yesterday. "We've had more achievement this year than in the history of the school."

"[Carnesale] has been intimately involved in the school's activities, particularly as they relate to the search for new faculty, which is at the heart of a dean's job," Porter said.

"[Carnesale] has also been accessi- ble to faculty and students and has maintaineda good deal of contact and involvement with theschool despite the demands on his time infulfilling his responsibilities as provost," hesaid.

But professors estimate that Carnesale spendsless than a third of his time at the KennedySchool.