Reintegrating Business Schools Into the Business Community: Marketing as a Leader, Follower, or Bystander? Marjorie J. Cooper, Baylor University Charles S. Madden, Baylor University Mark G. Dunn, Baylor University After more than a decade of criticism and searches for answers, it is clear that there has been a disintegration of the once healthy relationship between business schools and the business community. This paper looks at the primary criticisms of marketing departments/business schools as well as general ways in which these problems can be addressed by today's marketing faculty, Introduction There is an inescapable parallel between the free-wheeling, optimistic business environment of the 1980s and the concurrent phenomenal growth and prosperity of business schools. Marketing departments, of course, shared this climate and duly benefited in the form of high enrollments, reduced teaching loads, larger faculties, and enhanced resources for research and writing. Few who experienced the 1980s in business school education would argue the fact that business schools enjoyed an unprecedented popularity and the advantages commensurate with that popularity. But the bloom is off the rose, and the 1990s are a different story entirely. Along with corporate downsizings have come smaller business school enrollments, reflecting fewer jobs available in the marketplace and some disillusionment with business school education, Smaller enrollments also mean fewer resources for faculty, fewer job openings for new Ph.D.s, and less faculty mobility. As if things were not bad enough at home, business schools are also facing increasing criticism from their constituencies: from students, parents, state legislators, and, most noticeably, the business community. What is the nature of these criticisms? Why are business schools in so much trouble, seemingly overnight? Realistically, can business schools and marketing departments take steps that will truly address the concerns of constituencies or is the academic community locked into an impasse that threatens its survival? What are the underlying barriers to the business community's satisfaction with business school education? Purpose The purpose of this article is to: 1. Review the specific criticisms or perceived deficiencies in marketing education as voiced by the business community. 2. Examine the cultures and needs of each of the major constituencies that have voiced criticism, with particular emphasis on the business community. Page 1 of 6 Reintegrating Business Schools Into the Business Community: Ma... 5/24/04 file://C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\1995\SMA\95swa386.htm