New Tobacco Policy Brings Wide Attention to McCombs

In November 2007, the McCombs School of Business became the first business school in the country to institute a policy banning donations from tobacco companies.

“After careful deliberation, I have determined that it is not ethical for us to accept donations from tobacco companies,” said Dean George Gau in announcing the new policy. The decision, which followed a yearlong discussion on the topic among the school’s leadership, earned widespread support among faculty, students and staff.

McCombs’ tobacco decision drew media attention, including a Feb. 4 New York Times story about the role money from tobacco companies plays in higher education.

“We know the product is deadly,” said Paula Murray, associate dean for undergraduate programs, in the Times story. “We know it causes cancer. And we know that the younger you start smoking, the more likely you will find it hard to quit. With two-thirds of our undergraduates under 21, to me it’s a no-brainer.”

Following the article’s appearance in the Times, other outlets covered the McCombs decision, including many college student newspapers that, in turn, wrote articles on the status of tobacco money on their campuses.

In the wake of the widespread coverage, BusinessWeek.com asked Dean Gau to contribute a column detailing how the school made the decision. In the column, Gau addressed the most prominent arguments against such a policy, especially the “slippery slope” one: What will be next? Banning donations from fast-food companies? From alcohol companies?

“For me,” Gau wrote, “that argument doesn’t hold up. It is evident that tobacco has been a unique product in American history, and extensive research has shown it is highly addictive and harmful. While there are other legal products that can be misused by some, such as alcohol, tobacco is different in that it is damaging no matter how it’s used.”

Under the new policy, tobacco companies will still be allowed to recruit prospective employees at the McCombs School and will continue to receive the same basic placement support given to other companies. “I believe that as a public university, we do not have the right to prohibit recruitment activities by lawful companies,” Gau wrote.

The ban includes contributions to student organizations, faculty research projects and research centers, as well as any payments by tobacco companies for events in the school that are typically sponsored by firms, such as career fairs.

“At McCombs, we have put ethics at the core of our mission in educating the next generation of business leaders,” Gau wrote in the BusinessWeek.com column. “In the final analysis, I simply felt that accepting money from an industry that has caused so much harm to so many without any redeeming qualities was incompatible with this mission.”