Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story ran on 9/10/04. As of later that day, it has been replaced with this updated version.
The news of the past few years has been awash with corporate scandals: Massive mismanagement and $6,000 shower curtains at Tyco. Complex - and fake - Special Purpose Entities that hid huge losses and made Enron appear far more successful than the company was. A shredding orgy at Arthur Anderson. And the list goes on.
In the wake of the scandals, the McCombs School has added ethics course requirements to degree plans and incorporated ethical decision making into numerous other classes. Beyond developing an ethics curriculum, the university was forced to quickly distance itself from the scandal-ridden companies.
The Enron-funded Center for Energy Finance Education and Research, the Enron Corporation MBA Excellence Fund and the Center for Business Measurement and Assurance Services were quickly shuttered or renamed, and the large 'E' that adorned the electronic message board at the entrance to the business school was hastily taken down.
The University has also taken a stance against companies whose executives have been accused of crimes. The Mitte Foundation retracted a $9.4 million scholarship gift to the school after the school objected to board member Scott Mitte's leadership of the University/Mitte relationship following reports that several employees had accused him of sexual harassment. The Mitte Business Honors Program was also re-re-named the Business Honors Program.
Milking investors out of their retirement savings and connections to sexual harassment are certainly egregious, and worthy of cutting the companies' ties to the university. But what if a company existed-and profited-by killing off its customers? Surely the university would have nothing to do with such a company, right? Quite the opposite.
Altria, the cuddly new name of tobacco-behemoth Philip Morris, is a component of the MBA Investment Fund's Growth portfolio and a "Partner" of the McCombs School-thanks to their annual contribution of $5,000 to $15,000. That donation buys Altria recognition in McCombs publications and on the school's website, allows the company to sponsor student organizations and events and enjoy "interaction with McCombs School faculty in seminars, research projects, and presentations." Partners are also invited to participate in research initiatives, guest lectureships, case studies, practicums, and internships, and receive "customized recruitment activities and assistance from the Ford Career Center," and "enhanced on-campus exposure and promotion of corporate identity," according to the McCombs website.
Another benefit of partnership with the University is "executive speaking opportunities." On Sept. 23, Nancy De Lisi, a senior vice president at Altria, is scheduled to speak at a McCombs luncheon sponsored by the MBA Executive Speaker Series. And the topic of Ms. De Lisi's speech? Corporate Responsibility.
David Somers, a member of the MBA Executive Speaker Series committee, said that Ray Sullivan, a lobbyist working for Altria, contacted the committee about having Ms. De Lisi, a UT alum, speak, and "the topic was their decision." Somers surmised that Altria "wants to get positive PR," but insisted the talk is meant to be educational, "not a time for them to advertise how great they are." Somers expects about 100 students to attend, and said the group has not received any complaints.
Robert Prentice, Professor of Business Law in the McCombs School, was a bit surprised Ms. De Lisi would be speaking on corporate responsibility, "In my mind, she faces interesting ethical choices being [an executive] of such a company." Nonetheless, Mr. Prentice said he's "pleased to have her come here and discuss her point of view."
As panelist or in a debate-style format, one could see the wisdom of inviting Ms. De Lisi to present her perspective on corporate responsibility.
Having a tobacco company executive as the lone leader scheduled to speak on the topic this year, however, is inappropriate.
I've experienced Altria's "corporate responsibility" first-hand. I watched my father lug an oxygen machine around his apartment, his emphysema-scarred lungs barely able to function, even with pure oxygen. His addiction-an intended consequence of cigarette smoking-so strong that he bribed ICU nurses to bring him cigarettes as he lay recovering from heart-bypass surgery. I watched his frail body and blue-tinged extremities as he gasped his last breaths. And I watched as his body was lowered into the ground.
Where's the corporate responsibility?
Brown is a graduate student in the Professional Program in Accounting ./i>
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