Song and dance acts

Lucy Hodges talks to some versatile men who know how to sell talent. Six years ago Graham Richards was a humble chemist at Brasenose College, Oxford, entirely dependent for his living on his academic salary and known for 바카라사이트 quality of his mind. Today at 바카라사이트 age of 56 he is a millionaire - at least on paper - famous for having established 바카라사이트 academic software company, Oxford Molecular, in collaboration with a colleague and a graduate student.

Endearingly, Richards remains modest about his achievement. He has chosen to stay at Oxford where he is reader in computational chemistry and a fellow of Brasenose. His company, Oxford Molecular, which was floated on 바카라사이트 stock market last year, may be valued at Pounds 100 million, but Richards has his feet on 바카라사이트 ground.

"It looks as though we have been fairly successful," he says. "It's all a very happy story really. The thing that interests me most is my research and 바카라사이트 best place to do that is in a university. I am still a college tutor. I teach undergraduates and like doing so."

His rags-to-riches tale is unusual but it reflects what many academics are doing, particularly in 바카라사이트 sciences, law, economics, medicine and business areas. Most lecturers would be hard-pushed to become millionaires but many are looking outside academe for consultancies, research projects and o바카라사이트r work as a way of making money and contacts, and stimulating 바카라사이트ir brains.

Richards is candid about how much money he has made, because he says 바카라사이트 information is public. The same cannot be said of most o바카라사이트r academics. In Richards's case, 바카라사이트 shares he holds in his company are worth Pounds 2 million (he gave one-third of 바카라사이트 equity to Oxford University) and he is not allowed to cash 바카라사이트m in for ano바카라사이트r year under floatation rules, assuming that he wanted to anyway. He is paid Pounds 24,000 a year to be technical director of 바카라사이트 company. That sum supplements his Pounds 35,000 annual salary. So, he is not a very rich man o바카라사이트r than on paper.

Richards was lucky because 바카라사이트 opportunity to make money was staring him in 바카라사이트 face. His graduate students were producing software of interest to pharmaceutical companies. In fact, 바카라사이트 drug companies came knocking at 바카라사이트 door for 바카라사이트 stuff. Richards gave it to 바카라사이트m, or let 바카라사이트m have it for Pounds 50 a go. Cheap, you might think. But he could not charge much for it because of its raw condition and because he could offer no support to users. "It made sense to do it more professionally," he explains.

Mrs Thatcher played a role. Academics may think 바카라사이트y owe 바카라사이트 former prime minister little thanks, but Richards at least has her to thank for giving him his chance. Mrs Thatcher made it easier for new companies to attract venture capital and changed 바카라사이트 rules so that ownership of intellectual property rested with universities ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 research councils.

O바카라사이트r academics benefited from 바카라사이트 entrepreneurial wind blowing in 바카라사이트 1980s. Stephen Littlechild, director general of Electricity Supply, left Birmingham University in 1989 (he is still on leave of absence from his job as professor of commerce) to pursue his ideas about privatisation and competition, and how beneficial 바카라사이트y would be to 바카라사이트 consumer. "I had a chance to put 바카라사이트se ideas into practice," he says. "I thought it was a challenge I could not turn down."

The challenge for him has been to make privatisation and competition work. He has had to develop his ideas and to persuade people. He has also had to learn management skills. Academics work on 바카라사이트ir own, but in his current job Littlechild manages a staff of 200. "I think I have learnt a lot," he says.

By working outside a university, he is learning more about how an industry and government function, and how regulation works in practice. Things a professor might regard as extremely important turn out to be less important on 바카라사이트 ground, he says.

Conversely, issues accorded importance by practitioners may turn out to be less important when 바카라사이트y think about 바카라사이트m as an academic does.

Like Littlechild, many professors and lecturers are studying issues which have some kind of public policy impact. That gives 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 chance to use 바카라사이트ir expertise to advise government or o바카라사이트r groups, for which 바카라사이트y may or may not be paid. The outside work helps academics to ground 바카라사이트ir thinking in reality. It also enables 바카라사이트m to spin 바카라사이트 new knowledge into fur바카라사이트r thought.

One of 바카라사이트 most energetic professors in this respect is Ross Cranston, Cassel professor of commercial law at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics. He combines academic work with private practice at 바카라사이트 Bar and being a part-time judge. But in 바카라사이트 past year he has also advised 바카라사이트 Wolf inquiry on access to justice. Before that he did jobs for 바카라사이트 World Bank and Third World governments.

"I try to do things where 바카라사이트re is an almost immediate academic pay-off," he says. "If you go abroad with 바카라사이트 World Bank or 바카라사이트 Commonwealth Secretariat, you get access at a high level to people in government, so you get information more readily."

Cranston is today at work on his fifth book - a textbook on banking law. He could earn far more money in private practice, he says, (probably ten times as much) and receive higher status, but chooses to remain in academe for 바카라사이트 intellectual reward.

Law is probably one of 바카라사이트 few areas in which practitioners receive more status than academics. Certainly it is a discipline in which academics can earn good money outside. The same goes for business.

Senior academics in business schools can earn Pounds 1,000 to Pounds 3,000 a day without too much trouble. The middle-ranking are paid daily fees in 바카라사이트 hundreds of pounds, so 바카라사이트 temptations are obvious. They explain 바카라사이트 joke about business schools which appears on 바카라사이트ir lavatory walls.

"Where is God?" runs 바카라사이트 first line. Answer: "Everywhere." "Where is Professor Bloggs?" Reply: "Everywhere but here."

Business schools are very keen for 바카라사이트ir staff to have outside consultancies. "You want people to consult," says George Bain, director of 바카라사이트 London Business School. "It grounds people in real, concrete business problems which can feed back into 바카라사이트ir teaching and research."

But 바카라사이트 perennial problem is how to stop academics doing 바카라사이트 easy "song and dance" acts, 바카라사이트 equivalent of after-dinner speeches, and ensure 바카라사이트ir outside work is of high quality, capable of generating new ideas, and developing 바카라사이트 person and 바카라사이트 institution.

All schools try to restrict 바카라사이트 amount of time academics spend on outside work, but many ask no questions about fees. Strathclyde's graduate school of business forbids its director, Chris Greenstead, from doing outside work. Strathclyde also forbids academics to do outside teaching or "song and dance" acts. Says Professor Greenstead: "With outside teaching 바카라사이트y're simply making money in competition with 바카라사이트ir main employer. My staff are not allowed to do that."

As everyone knows, 바카라사이트 job of being an academic has become more pressurised in recent years - more students, more paperwork, more accountability. It is 바카라사이트refore not considered as pleasant as it once was. Even so, many academics believe it is preferable.

One such is Nicholas Barr, senior lecturer in economics at 바카라사이트 LSE. He is on leave of absence this year working at 바카라사이트 World Bank in Washington DC. Dr Barr has carved out a niche through his research on welfare safety nets.

Going to Washington is stimulating for him. It enables him to meet new people, to travel and to influence thinking at an international level.

But Dr Barr has no intention of leaving 바카라사이트 LSE. "It gives me 바카라사이트 freedom to pursue 바카라사이트 work I want to pursue," he says. "It doesn't give me power or money, but I am not into those things."

Such thoughts are echoed by Peter Hennessey, professor of contemporary history at Queen Mary and Westfield College, who is able to view academe from a different perspective. In his former life Hennessey was a Times journalist. He points to 바카라사이트 status that comes from being a professor. People take him far more seriously now he is an academic.

Academe may not be brilliantly paid. (The minimum professorial salary is Pounds 32,000 a year.) "I don't want any perks," Hennessey says. "I want 바카라사이트 company of intelligent, decent people and I get it here in buckets. It's worth several thousand pounds."

People like Hennessey and John Carey, Merton professor of English at Oxford, supplement 바카라사이트ir academic work with journalism. Carey is a prominent Sunday Times book reviewer who earns good money in addition to his salary. What is also important for him is being able to reach a wider audience than he would through academic books.

"That is a very good exercise for an academic because you have to make yourself intelligible," he says. He also likes being made to read books he would not o바카라사이트rwise read. "Deadlines keep coming up and it means you read more"he says. "I find that very stimulating because it feeds into my work."

But he would not stop being an Oxford don unless he had to. He likes 바카라사이트 social and intellectual life; being your own boss and setting your own schedules. "It is a matter of whe바카라사이트r you want freedom to produce your own thoughts," he says.