William Jewell College (Liberty, MO) adds bioethics major.

William Jewell College, according to a recent AP story (via the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World), has added a bioethics major. Two features of the story seem especially noteworthy:

• Kansas City planners see the major as an important phase in the emergence of KC as a biomedical research center: "The major will include study in biology, chemistry, and religion and philosophy, and it's being introduced as the Kansas City area positions itself to become a hub for biomedical research.
  
  "The Center for Practical Bioethics is in Kansas City, as is the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
  
  "'I don't think there is any question it will be synergistic,' said Bill Duncan, president of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute."
  
  As Dallas strives to establish itself as the Southwest's biomedical research center, it doesn't seem to have occurred to the powers that be that all this state-of-the-art research just might be complemented by an equally world-class ethics program.



• Best quote: "'I don't see it leading to great employability,' said Bill Bondeson, a medical ethics professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia," in response to William Jewell's reported "hope[] that its graduates will find a ready market for their degrees."

Professor Bill is undoubtedly correct, but if I were a medical-school admissions officer, a grad with this major would probably rocket right to the top of the list.