Delaware Tech receives $300K from JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase has committed $300,000 to Delaware Tech to support students, staff and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The emergency funds will assist Delaware Tech students who are now learning in an online environment stay enrolled and continue to receive high-quality education.

While Delaware Tech has quickly and successfully shifted its coursework online in the wake of stay-at-home orders, some challenges have arisen, including access to technology for students. Research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that 65 percent of families don’t have the cash buffer to weather a simultaneous income dip and spike in expenditure like the one resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.

Through this new commitment, Delaware Tech will make laptops and Chromebooks available to students in need who are enrolled in credit and short-term certificate programs, allowing them to successfully complete online work.

JPMorgan Chase’s support will also allow for 38 Delaware Tech faculty members to attend a two-week virtual boot camp professional development session with the college’s Center for Creative Instruction and Technology to learn how to develop online master courses to optimize student learning and engagement. Other professional development opportunities for faculty to learn how to best deliver online courses will also be funded by the grant.

To help students gain employment during challenging times, the grant will include a virtual career fair for Delaware Tech students and alumni, with emphasis on the healthcare and education fields. Alumni experiencing unemployment will also be able to access career counseling and job placement services through the grant.

“We are grateful to JPMorgan Chase for once again stepping in to help Delaware Tech provide essential services to our students,” said Delaware Tech President Dr. Mark T. Brainard. “This grant will help our faculty to deliver the high-quality education that our students expect and deserve. And it will allow us to provide our students and alumni with enhanced access to career and employment resources. We know this award will have far-reaching benefits for our state.”

JPMorgan Chase’s support for Delaware Tech is part of the firm’s $200 million global business and philanthropic commitment to address the humanitarian and economic impacts of COVID-19 on underserved, hard-hit communities, including people of color and low-income households across the U.S.

“JPMorgan Chase has a long history in Delaware and a standing commitment to supporting our employees, customers and communities across the state,” said Tom Horne, Delaware Market leader for JPMorgan Chase. “Investing in our youth and ensuring that students can continue to benefit from high-quality education is key to helping make sure the COVID-19 crisis doesn’t widen the economic opportunity gap for the most vulnerable Delawareans.”