Four years ago, Harvard professors flooded into Clinton's Adminstration, earning it the nickname "Harvard on the Potomac." This year, though, they return from their trips in Washington, D.C. back to familiar Harvard. Here's a look at how their stay changed their lives.

FOUR YEARS AGO, people dubbed it Harvard on the Potomac. But this year the Clinton Administration will need a new nickname.

Like soldiers marching off to battle, a troupe of bright-eyed, progressive Harvard faculty members marched down to Washington in early 1993 to join newly-elected President Bill Clinton and possibly change the course of the nation.

But few expect such a Harvard presence in Clinton's second term. In fact, the cream of the crop have already served their time in the Cabinet and are now returning to private life.

For reasons of family, exhaustion and occasionally politics, the Harvard wonks who left four years ago are wending their way back to the ivory tower of academia.

A Tough Job

When Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences David M. Cutler '86 was asked to join the President's Council of Economic Advisors four years ago, he jumped at the opportunity to serve his country.

An expert on health care reform, Cutler was enticed by the opportunity to shape national policy decisions.

But after two years of life in Washington, Cutler says his optimism became a bit muted.

"There's whole lot of politics and lot less trying to deal with issues," says Cutler, who returned to Cambridge two years ago.

After a frustrating struggle to pass Clinton's highly controversial health care reform bill, Cutler says he learned that the Washington culture of compromise makes progress difficult.

"Once things become political, you can't accomplish much," Cutler says.

But Cutler's difficulties may be particular to the area of health care, which was the subject of national media scrutiny during the early part of Clinton's first term.

Other Harvard faculty members who specialized in less controversial fields found a different experience while working in Washington.

As Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, Ashton Carter, Kennedy School professor of science and international policy, says his time at the Pentagon was a complete success.