There is a new need to recognize that though universities have a concern and a responsibility toward the everyday world their primary, their fundamental, responsibility lies totally elsewhere. This is for basic investigation, for the pursuit of learning almost for learning's own sake, for poetry and for vision, and then from this kind of experience for the provision within society of a critically constructive force.

Ten years later, the Harvard Corporation issued a "Statement of Policy on Conflicts of Interest for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences," which discounted Pusey's concerns about academic autonomy. This document left conflict of interest judgements to individual professors, and counts "consultant services making use of the employee's general research or scientific background, where there is no possibility of preferred disclosure of University research results to an outside organization," as a "clearly permissible activity."

Samuel Bowles, who was denied tenure here in 1972 and who is now a full professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, said recently that outside consulting influences the direction of a scholar's research. "You don't have to believe in a mechanistic theory of knowledge to believe that if may affect their research. It's perfectly obvious that the source of the funds is extremely important in determining the bias of the research."

John Kenneth Galbraith, Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus, said that members of his profession ought to make public their outside sources of income. "Since economists speak out regularly on public issues, one should know by whom they are employed. If they are working for a government or trade union this will generally be known. If they are working for a corporation or a consulting firm it should equally be a part of the public record."

Galbraith also said professors consult "for the money. All will say that it gives a deeper experience in the world of practical affairs. All will disguise the reality--which is that it's a good way of supplementing academic pay." But not wanting to seem "self-righteous," he added "I've never done it myself, but I've never known for sure whether that was because of moral resistance or because I wasn't under financial pressure."

Martin S. Feldstein '61, professor of Economics, believes that consulting can be professionally beneficial. Feldstein, president of the non-profit National Bureau of Economic Research, noted that "if you're in economic development and you're sitting in Cambridge you won't know anything, because Cambridge is not that underdeveloped." He cited the example of a professor who studies industrial organization, and said that he would "learn a lot more about how a business thinks if they're paying you...If I'm in industrial organization and want to know how Gillette makes it marketing decisions...I couldn't go tell the world about it."

Dale W. Jorgenson, professor of Economics, who teaches two graduate level Economics courses this semester, consults for the federal government. He likens the consulting activity of an economics professor to the clinical practice of a dentist. "It's exposure at a less abstract level," he said. "My research is largely empirical, and in a consulting role you're dealing with something specific and down to earth."

Perkins questioned the practice of consulting "purely for the money," but said he knew of no case of that type in the Economics Department. He added, "If I knew every piece of consulting done I might be able to find a few examples. But a great majority have a clear professional pay-off or provide a service."

Professors interviewed for this article had different reactions to discussing their own consulting activities. Some were reluctant to discuss who they worked for. John R. Meyer, 1907 Professor in Transportation, Logistics and Distribution, who teaches Economics 1540, "The Business-Government Relationship in U.S. Society," said that "some of it is highly confidential advice to senior management.... Really, I don't think it's other people's business. It's done on my own time and mainly in the summer." He compared his relationship with a corporate client to a doctor's with his patient, and said, "Sometimes it involves high level corporate strategy and public policy."

Meyer added, though, that it would be unfair to attribute to the professor the biases of the corporation he works for. And later he said he had done "a little" consulting for Pan American Airlines, and that for years he visited General Motors annually to give a talk about the virtures of small cars. "They got great chuckles out of it," he added.

Robert Dorfman, Wells Professor of Political Economy, who specializes in environmental issues, said he spends 20 per cent of the academic year consulting, nearly all of it for the federal government. Asked if he had done any consulting for industry, he said, "Virtually never. Maybe we can find a few exceptions, but I can't think of any of them.

A. Michael Spence, professor of Economics, said he does a "small amount" of consulting. But when asked for whom, he said, "I just can't answer that. It's a long list and a matter of confidentially working with people." This semester Spence is teaching Economics 2610, "Industrial Organization," which addresses, according to the catalog blurb, "The structure and functioning of markets in American industry, including market structure and the nature of competition, innovation, antitrust policy, and other public policies toward the regulation of markets."

Caves, who teaches Ec 2610 jointly with Spence, also declined to name the businesses he had done work for. "I'd rather not discuss them," he said, adding that he had "tried to make a policy of only taking projects with research value."

Some faculty members were more willing to discuss their consulting relationships. S. Malcolm Gillis, lecturer on Economics, teaches three courses for undergraduates and graduates on public finance and economic development. He said he had consulted for the Treasury Department, the Ford Foundation, and the American Management Association, and estimated that 20 to 25 per cent of his income came from sources outside the University. He added that "You do most of these things because you're interested in them. A lot of times the kind of consulting they do gets reflected in the research they do."

David G. Hartman, assistant professor of Economics, teaches a course called Statistical Methods for Economists, and another called International Trade and Investment. He said he consults approximately two days a month for several firms. He cautioned, though, that the question of academic moonlighting is a touchy one for many professors--and one they would rather not be asked about. "It's private business," he said. "I think you might offend some people."