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At yesterday’s faculty meeting, the faculty voted to support the creation of a business major at Brandeis. The Board of Trustees will make the final decision later this month. The faculty voted correctly, and it is our hope that the Trustees follow suit.

Certainly, there has been concern about the creation of a business major. Many have wondered if such a major will attract the ‘wrong’ type of students. However, the proposed business major should not be discounted simply because of the word business.

And while liberal arts colleges and universities have traditionally shunned business curricula, it makes little sense to reject the proposed major simply on the grounds of tradition.

The Brandeis business major is not a typical business major. It will include a focus on the intersection between business and the context in which it operates. The business major has been custom designed to fit Brandeis and the liberal arts.

Moreover, to assert that this will change the character of our university is unfounded, particularly because there are already plenty of students on campus who study economics and wish to enter the financial sector after graduation. The students who will supposedly debase our liberal arts mission are already here.

Furthermore, the business major offers a tremendous opportunity not just for recruitment, but for social change. We have experienced in the last six months how unethical and dishonest business practices can destabilize a university, and a nation. Now more than ever, we need to combine business with ethics. A liberal arts focused business major could do just that.