We have been reading recent articles published in this paper that reflect a student body that is extremely unhappy and uninterested in the selection of Jamie Dimon as Syracuse University’s commencement speaker. First off, let’s go over some facts about JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Jamie Dimon. Dimon has a very long résumé working for various banks on Wall Street. In 2004 he took on one of the larger roles when his former employer, Bank One, was taken over by JPMorgan. After the acquisition, Dimon became president of JPMorgan and from there he became the company’s chief executive officer and a board member of the New York Federal Reserve.

During the time Dimon has been CEO, the world has seen competitors Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, CIT, Countrywide, and Washington Mutual either close their doors for good or get taken over at fire-sale prices. During this time, we have seen the portfolio of companies that JPMorgan owns increase and their competitive position set firmly atop the banking industry.  In 2009 JPMorgan reported it had nearly a quarter million people working for the bank. One of the reasons we believe Dimon is such a good choice is due to the fact that he was able to make JPMorgan one of the best banks on the street, while saving the nearly one-quarter million jobs that would have been lost if JPMorgan were to go under like Lehman or Bear Sterns.

Not only is Jamie Dimon one of the most respected CEOs in the industry, Dimon is also respected by President Obama (whom the majority of our student body either supported or voted for). Obama was quoted saying about Dimon, ‘You know, keep in mind, though there are a lot of banks that are actually pretty well managed, JPMorgan being a good example, Jamie Dimon, the CEO there, I don’t think should be punished for doing a pretty good job managing an enormous portfolio.’ There was even mass speculation by Washington insiders and news agencies that Jamie Dimon was on the short list of people Obama considered for the treasury secretary position. Other names on that list included current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Warren Buffett, PIMCO CEO Mohamed A. El-Erian and Larry Summers.

Under Dimon, JPMorgan was among the first banks to repay its TARP funds, or simply repay the bailout. On June 17, 2009, JPMorgan returned all $25 billion plus interest. What many people don’t realize or know is that the back was forced by the federal government to take these funds. The federal government was nervous about the tier-one capital reserves on many banks, and wanted to completely ensure that these firms were not going to fall like Lehman or Bear.

No matter whether you think that this plan was the right course of action, it simply worked. No more banks fell, and Dimon repaid the money he was forced to take on the first available day the banks could repay it. Furthermore, according to The New York Times, of the banks that have repaid their TARP funds, the government has seen a calculated annual rate of return of 15 percent on their investment.

The last question that we should ask ourselves isn’t whether Jamie Dimon should be speaking, but rather, why people within and outside SU have started to frown upon successful people such as Jamie Dimon and people that make a lot of money. Why has success or wearing a tailored suit earned such a stigma where no one wants to touch or associate with you? We as Americans and individuals should not have disdain for someone as successful as Jamie Dimon, but rather applaud and respect a man like him for his work that saved a company, one-quarter million jobs and the U.S. economy.

Gary Stefanski
Senior, Martin J. Whitman School of Management

Christopher Ransom
Senior, Martin J. Whitman School of Management

Published on April 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm