Jay Golden Named Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance

When Jay Golden attended Arizona State University as an undergraduate, he was unsure of a major. A job with campus public safety, however, piqued his interest in a career he hadn’t considered.

The position had Golden supporting environmental health and safety efforts, everything from conducting routine inspections to helping in the investigation and cleanup of minor chemical spills. He was drawn to the law enforcement side as much as engineering and sustainability.

Golden began his career as a full-time police officer, with a focus on environmental crimes. Eventually, he launched a consulting business and then returned to academia to further his studies and share his expertise.

In the 15 years since, he has served as an associate vice provost, a vice chancellor and a university president. But, he says, “my passion has always been being an educator and mentor to students and using leading research to help transfer theory into real world understanding.”

At the start of the fall 2021 semester, Golden joined Maxwell as the inaugural Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance. The position is situated in the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, though Golden teaches across undergraduate and graduate degree programs, drawing students interested in diverse careers that intersect with sustainability and finance, including aspiring entrepreneurs, economists and policy makers.

He is also a research associate in the Center for Environmental Policy and Administration, and he has launched the Dynamic Sustainability Lab to examine the impacts of new technologies, policies and strategies aimed at meeting sustainability commitments.

The professorship is funded with a gift from University Trustee Kenneth A. Pontarelli ’92 B.S. (Econ) and his wife, Tracey. “Tracey and I are passionate about creating opportunities for students to get excited about sustainability as a career,” says Pontarelli, who also earned a degree in finance from the Whitman School of Management. “Dr. Golden’s experience in this field, his passion for mentoring and developing future leaders and his vision for this curriculum is going to make Syracuse University’s sustainability initiative one of the best.”

In 2018, Pontarelli founded Mission Driven Capital Partners, a New York City-based firm focused on sustainability investing. He recently returned to Goldman Sachs, the global investment banking, securities and investment management firm where he launched his career. He now serves as partner and managing director and leads private equity impact investing efforts within its asset management division.

Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke says the position “meets a need for our students to have an interdisciplinary, holistic understanding of sustainability at this most crucial time for industry and our environment.”

Golden’s courses include an introductory course for the environment, sustainability and policy integrated learning program which attracts a range of majors. He will also teach a course focused on supply chain for sustainable technologies as well as a course for Maxwell’s Washington Programs, and in the summer of 2022, he will visit London to teach European corporate sustainability.

“The courses I teach are the nexus of business, public policy and sustainable technology transitions,” he says. “I try to provide the students an appreciation of sustainability as an ambition but also an in-depth understanding of the sciences and the real-world implications that both corporations and governments face in advancing a new generation of sustainable technologies and organizational strategies.”

Golden received a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from a joint program of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also completed Organizational Mastery of Project Management at Stanford University and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.

“We are already seeing new initiatives, opportunities and results from his active engagement and enthusiasm for collaboration,” says Van Slyke. “I have no doubt that the University and Maxwell will see collective benefits from his passion in connecting students and research to changing the way we think about the policy implications of sustainable energy investments.”

—Jessica Youngman

B.A.

M.P.A./’20 Hon. received numerous honors for his professional achievements and philanthropy, including the University’s top award for alumni accomplishment, the George Arents Award.