On the surface, it may look like Harvard is going to stay out of Washington in 2004.

None of the nine Democratic contenders for president have Harvard degrees. In fact, the only candidate who boasts a Crimson tie is President Bush, a third generation Yalie, who studied for two years at Harvard Business School.

But behind the scenes, Harvard professors are hard at work.

Faculty from a diverse array of academic departments are drafting policy briefs and touching up speeches on everything from taxes to terrorism.

Inboxes across the University are filled with e-mails from advisors to Democratic candidates Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, but the requests often have multiple motives.

To candidates, Harvard professors are a source of policy information, and often more importantly, political connections.

Coveting the clout of the Harvard name—and the weight it carries with potential donors—politicians seek out professors for endorsements and advice.

To professors, work on a political campaign means practical experience and a national stage for their ideas.

According to Former Dean of the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) Graham Allison, hundreds of professors could be advising campaigns during any given election.

Allison, who served as assistant director of Defense for the Clinton administration, says he is not officially affiliated with any current campaign, although he adds that he has long served as an advisor to Kerry.

He says that one of professors’ most necessary contributions to a campaign is not intellectual, but financial.

“Campaigns need money and keep reaching out to fund-raising circles,” he says. “Most of the time they don’t really have time for listening.”

Harvard professors are the ultimate insiders in the political game, sought after for their ability to raise money, as well as for their minds.

Show Me the Money

As a group, affiliates of Harvard University rank as the fourth biggest block of all-time contributors to Kerry’s political campaigns, according to opensecrets.com.