Since the fall of the Iron Curtain (sometimes described as the triumph of capitalism over communism), the United States has fallen behind other nations in terms of several key measures of human thriving: education, clean water, physical infrastructure and happiness. The much-vaunted American standard of living has been eroding for the past 30 years. For many, fixing the deficit will require drastic cuts in health and human service spending while keeping military, Medicare, and Social Security relatively intact. Given the prospects of decreased funding and increased needs to rebuild social capital and infrastructure, what scientific research priorities will best meet the needs of the United States and its citizens over the next decade?

Don Mayer, J.D., LL.M., professor-in-residence in the Department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies at the University of Denver and UM's inaugural Arsht Visiting Scholar in Ethics, will present "Getting to the Good Society--U.S. Research Priorities 2010-2020" this Friday at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. Mayer has written widely on international business, law and business ethics, and is co-editor of the book Good Business: Exercising Effective and Ethical Leadership.