The McDonaldization of the University: Has the Private Sector Become the Hub of Research?

By: Gary Comstock




Thus the quasi-tongue-in-cheek title for the 1997 ISU Bioethics Program winter retreat. More than forty of us, ISU faculty members all, gathered in Des Moines on January 7 and 8, 1997, to discuss ethical issues associated with the linkage of university research and private business. The title was intended to invoke two images. First, "the McDonaldization of society" is shorthand in cultural criticism for the power of transnational corporations--Coca-Cola, LeviÌs, McDonaldÌs--to introduce new global values into once isolated local cultures. But what is lost in the process? Might the integrity and sense of a place diminish around the time it erects its first golden arches?

The second image comes from an incident at Iowa State University in the summer of 1996 when the administration entertained a proposal to place a McDonaldÌs in the Hub. The Hub is a small building next to Parks Library in which students purchase lunch from vending machines. The proposal caused a minor ruckus, with some objecting to the symbolism of siting such a recognizable metaphor of private enterprise at the heart of campus.

Before the retreat began, participants read Norman BowieÌs book, University-Business Partnerships: An Assessment (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1994). Dr. Bowie gave the keynote address and discussed the history of the relations betweeen private industry and university research. He introduced normative principles to use in exploring problems such as distributive justice, conflicts of interest, economic risk, and publication delay.

We then heard from the speakers whose papers are published here: Dr. Martin Jischke, President of Iowa State University; Dr. Dianne Rahm, professor of political science; and Dr. Tony Smith, professor of philosophy. We also heard from Dr. Alan Paau of the ISU Research Foundation and Dr. Colin Scanes, Associate Dean of the ISU College of Agriculture. The retreat was cohosted by the Murray G. Bacon Center for Ethics in Business.

We hope you enjoy this passionate exchange of views. For those planning their next trip to Ames, there is, alas, as of June 1997, no McDonaldÌs in our Hub. But should you need fries bad, check out the food court in the Memorial Union. There's a McDonald's Express.


Updated: June 23, 1997

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