German Universities Debate Ties to Banks

Many German academics have been angered to learn of a deal between Deutsche Bank, Humboldt University and the Technical University of Berlin, under which the bank gave $17 million to finance the Quantitative Products Laboratory, to pay the cost of two endowed professorships. As The New York Times reported, the controversy is because of what the bank received: a say in the hiring of the professors, the right to have bank employees designated as adjunct professors, and a role in selecting topics for research by the research center.