On Tuesday, November 2, the Saint Peter’s College Board of Regents welcomed members of the region’s business community to their 39th Annual Regents Business Symposium at the Jersey City Hyatt Regency on the Hudson. This signature annual event of the College gathers industry experts to address a cutting-edge topic in business and serves as a fundraising opportunity for scholarship support and other College initiatives. This year, the event broke all previous sponsorship records and raised a total of $112,345, representing an increase of almost 15 percent compared with the previous record.
Four speakers shared insights on the theme, Going Green, Going Global: The Costs and Benefits to Business. Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., Jerry Greenfield, was the keynote speaker. Additional featured speakers were Ralph LaRossa, president and COO of PSE&G, Dawn Murray, director of United States environmental sustainability for ING, and William Gutsch Jr., Ph.D. ’67, distinguished professor of the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Peter’s College.
Mr. LaRossa and Ms. Murray discussed all of the initiatives that PSE&G and ING, respectively, were implementing to go green while Dr. Gutsch shared satellite footage of pollution and other environmental hazards, which displayed how countries across the world are all connected through these dangers. Mr. Greenfield then recalled the story of how he and co-founder Ben Cohen turned their small town ice cream shop into a $300 million ice cream business. He highlighted the importance of making the business supportive of the community and the environment.
Reporter Ashley Strain attended the 39th Annual Regents Business Symposium. Her feature story for The Jersey Journal, “Ice cream mogul pitches ‘green’ business tips at Jersey City symposium,” is available online. An article by Heather Martin, a guest columnist at The Jersey Journal, offered her insights into the inspirational topics. Additionally, NJBIZ Reporter Jared Kaltwasser discussed the broader business implications of going green for New Jersey companies in his article “Business Leaders talk Green Energy in Jersey City.”
Left photo: (left to right) Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D. and Jerry Greenfield
Right photo: (left to right) J.B. Wilson ’70, president of Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in New Jersey (AICUNJ); Pat Sheehan, Saint Peter’s College Trustee Emeritus; William Gutsch Jr., Ph.D. ’67, distinguished professor of the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Peter’s College; Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc.; Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s College; Dawn Murray, director of United States environmental sustainability for ING; Robb Santos ’91, chair of the Saint Peter’s College Board of Regents