Munger, the chairman of political science at Duke University, is known to long-time Dome readers as a quote-machine.

His column urges academics to see reporters and their stories as a easy way to get their research some attention.

"There is no cheaper or more effective way for your institution, and your research, to have an impact," he wrote.

In that spirit, Munger offers some handy tips for would-be pundits. One tip is to watch the flip comments. Munger, a man who once said the Republican Party has a history of trotting out "circus clowns" as candidates, knows of what he speaks.

Who could forget his review of then-candidate Beverly Perdue's ads which he said "appeared to be designed to prove that she was once a child and had later had a series of unfortunate haircuts."

"Guess which of my comments made the air that night" he writes in his column. To his credit, Munger did later punk himself.

"I probably should have avoided criticizing someone else' haircuts," he wrote on his blog. "Since, I mean, NO ONE knows more about bad haircuts than I do."

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John Edwards came in fifth in fundraising among academics.

According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education ($), the former North Carolina senator raised one-sixth as much money from college professors and administrators as Sen. Barack Obama.

Obama's $2.1 million haul made him the clear favorite. Sen. Hillary Clinton came in second with $1.6 million, followed by former Gov. Mitt Romney with $563,795 and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani with $461,925.

Edwards came in fifth with $351,261. 

Not surprisingly, he raised the most from employees of UNC-Chapel Hill, which gave $34,575. Law professors were also particularly generous.

UNC-Chapel Hill has inked a contract with R. William Funk and Associates, a Dallas-based headhunter who will be paid $90,000 plus reimbursement for expenses related to the process, Jane Stancill reports.

The panel interviewed three consultants during a marathon session Oct. 16. They settled on Bill Funk, who is well known in higher education circles and was dubbed "the matchmaker" in a Chronicle of Higher Education cover story in 2005. He has conducted more than 250 searches in higher education, including searches for 70 sitting presidents, he said.

Funk said he would visit the campus and talk to key groups to find out what the university needs in its next leader. During the interview, he promised to deliver impressive candidates. "We're looking for a big-time player," he said.

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