Traditionally, the idealized image of the academician combines the clinical acumen of an Osler, the teaching charisma of a Socrates, and the de novo thinking of an Einstein. More recent realities have made it painfully apparent to most chairs of pediatric departments that the "triple threat" physician/academician is, at best, a rarity. Despite this new "academic morbidity," the chair is expected by deans, boards of trustees or regents, and legislators not only to manage patients well but also to teach the next generation of physicians and generate new knowledge in the process. Although the successes with which this goal can be reached are variable, all those who try have to make certain that financial ends meet if their departments are to survive. Since the halcyon days of more plentiful federal research funding of the 1960s have passed, it is painfully apparent that innovative and unique ways are needed to keep