Research Blog #4: Your Research Proposal

Siobhan N. Barrington

Professor Goeller

Research in Disciplines: College!

21 October 2014

Research Proposal

 

Working Title: Higher Education Cover-ups for the Good of the Brand

Topic

My paper will explore various higher education scandals that have been covered up in an attempt for high-profile universities to protect their brand. I will discuss the newly-established importance of brand-building in institutions of higher learning, and the lengths to which these universities will go to keep their brand “clean”. I will utilize a number of unethical (borderline scandalous) events surrounding school ranking and school athletics that gain schools different amounts of funding and discuss some of the situations where universities have attempted to cover up such scandals.

Research Question

Has the utilization of “brand logic” by higher education universities created a culture where unethical decision making of university employees and students is overlooked in an attempt to protect the brand of the institution?

Theoretical Frame/Approach

“Brand logic” is discussed as strategic building of brands to help universities gain popularity, funding from stakeholders, and interest from prospective students. This strategic branding has become increasingly important for institutions of higher education. Holding so much importance, I will discuss a few different scandals that have taken place at different high-profile universities, and the cover-ups that ensued there-after. I will then make a connection between the cover-ups used and the negative effects that they could have had on the brand.

            This particular topic is very intriguing to me due to Rutgers University entering into the Big Ten Conference. The move to this conference, which houses many other large and well-known state schools, has elicited a lot of change on campus. With the change I see daily on campus, it made me wonder what things are changing behind the scenes and how long these changes have been in the making. It also makes me want to look more closely to the athletic abuse scandal that led to the firing of a former Rutgers basketball coach and athletic director.  

Research Plan, Case, Additional Questions

            My research plan includes exploring different university scandals in an effort to determine whether or not the motivation behind the cover-up was an attempt to save their brands. I plan to use an article written by Jennifer Proffitt and Thomas Corrigan entitled  Penn State’s “Success With Honor”: How Institutional Structure and Brand Logic Disincentivized Disclosure as my main source. The article discusses the Pennsylvania State University sex scandal and the ways in which the "corporatized" university placed self-serving economic motivations over the safety of individuals. During the case it was presumed that university officials, including the president, kept the molestation accusations under wraps to protect the university's reputation. This is a great example of the use of “brand logic” in that it presents a justification by universities working to prize its own image and profits ahead of people. In this scandal (and others alike) the goal of the university was not to seek justice for the person wronged but instead to displace responsibility as not to deface the university's "good name".

Working Bibliography

Clark, John S., et al. "Who Knows Bobby Mo? Using Intercollegiate Athletics

To Build A University Brand." Sport Marketing Quarterly 18.1 (2009): 57-63. Business Source Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Lucas, Kristen, and Jeremy Fyke. "Euphemisms And Ethics: A Language-

Centered Analysis Of Penn State's Sexual Abuse Scandal." Journal Of Business Ethics 122.4 (2014): 551-569. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

Nguyen, Thuy Dung, Kunio Shirahada, and Michitaka Kosaka. "A

Consideration On University Branding Based On SDL (Service Dominant Logic): The Lens Of Stakeholders' Value Co-Creation." Icsssm12 (2012): 779. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Proffitt, Jennifer M., and Thomas F. Corrigan. "Penn State’S “Success With

Honor”: How Institutional Structure And Brand Logic Disincentivized Disclosure." Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies 12.4 (2012): 322. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.

Simon, Gary L., and Judith H. Washburn. "A Perspective On Program

Branding In An Education Institution: One Growing University's Experience With Branding Its Programs." Society For Marketing Advances Proceedings 25.(2013): 78-79. Business Source Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Tokuhama, Chris. "Consumption, A Modern Affliction: Branding Culture,

Youth Identity And College Admission." Journal Of College Admission 210 (2011): 32-38. ERIC. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.