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"Fast food used to be a bootstraps business -- you started out as a fry cook and then became president. No longer." So says Professor Don Smith of Washington State University, who holds what may be the first endowed chair for the study of the fast-food industry, thanks to a $250,000 grant from Taco Bell. A former executive for Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Shakey's pizza- parlor chain, Smith says the booming $60 billion industry is suffering a shortage of skilled managers.

To help fill the gap, Smith teaches such diverse subjects as market psychology, distribution systems and new-product development. Within 2 1/2 years of graduation, students can expect to manage 200 to 300 employees in businesses with as much as $5 million in annual revenue. Says Smith: "For a young person interested in management, there's no better opportunity than fast food."