Provost John Etchemendy has 4-1 odds for being named Harvard University’s next president, according to gambling Web site bodog.com. Etchemendy has the third-best chance in the online pool, behind Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan (3-1 odds) and Harvard Provost Steven E. Hyman (7-2 odds).

Three percent of wagers on Bodog.com have bet on Etchemendy to assume the presidency, far behind Kagan’s 20 percent. The search for a new president began after Lawrence H. Summers stepped down, Feb. 21, amid controversy surrounding what some considered gender-biased remarks.

A new Harvard president is not expected to be announced until early 2007.

Etchemendy took the news in stride, telling The Boston Globe that it was “a kick.”

“Maybe this is my chance to win some money with insider knowledge,” he wrote. “Do you think the NCAA would frown on that?”