JP Morgan Chase is planning to set up a doctoral program at the University of Delaware (UDel), which raised questions with some academic officials, Inside Higher Ed reported.

The banking giant will donate $17 million to renovate a building to house the program as well as pay other expenses for the degree program. Students who would graduate with the doctorate would get a degree for "financial services analytics."

Part of the donation will go toward a full-ride scholarship program for qualifying students seeking a degree. Also included in the proposed plan will be JP Morgan employees being allowed to sit on dissertation committees as well as the ability to advise UDel on which faculty members should be allowed to teach in the program.

One faculty member already dubbed the program, which has yet to be approved, "the JP Morgan Ph.D." Other faculty critics believe the decision, if passed, would ruin the school's credibility.
On the other hand, Bruce Weber, dean of UDel's business school, said it is something that does not happen often enough at other schools.

"I think it's a great way for business schools to really enhance the education they provide to their students by reaching out to the industry," he said.

JP Morgan and UDel have already been working closely since 2009, as the bank has a strong presence in the state of Delaware. Weber joined the school three years ago and did not believe UDel's programs were as successful as they could be. Since, the school and JP have teamed up for a minor in global enterprise technology.

But some faculty members believe a Ph.D. program is simply going too far.

"When you give them their own JP Morgan Ph.D., that's sort of where I got ruffled," said Sheldon Pollack, a former Faculty Senate president at UDel and professor of law and political science.

He added that the proposed degree is a "non-academic Ph.D. program that doesn't belong at a quality academic institution."

"No faculty member woke up one day and said, 'Hey, let's set up a degree program in financial services so we can train people to work at JPMorgan,'" Pollack said.

Pollack was also concerned that students from UDel's business school, granted the relationship that already existed with JP Morgan, would have a hard time if they did not want to work at Chase.

"You wouldn't be able to send students to Goldman Sachs," he said.

Weber stressed that JP Morgan employees being allowed various privileges in academic affairs, like faculty appointment, were decisions made by UDel.

"They can provide us with that advice or input," he said. "We welcome them to consult with us on these inputs, but it's a university choice."