Conference on Climate Research, Teaching, and Collaboration

The one-day conference aims to:

1. Bring together Baruch faculty members across the three schools to showcase their work: Marxe, Weissman, and Zicklin faculty pioneers in the research and teaching of climate change and environmental sustainability.
2. Consider opportunities for climate change, environmental sustainability research, and teaching collaboration.
3. Provide a platform for a dialogue between Baruch, other CUNY climate faculty, regulators, private sector leaders, and local thought leaders.
4. Provide a platform for an exchange of ideas focused on critical research needs and the preparation of knowledgeable Baruch graduates ready to bring data-based, climate change insights to NYC through innovation and leadership.
5. Provide a venue to convene Baruch faculty associated with the Climate Studies Research Cluster and raise awareness of the cluster’s existence.

Breakfast

9:45 am–10:00 am

Welcoming Remarks

10:00 am–10:30 am

• Mindy Engle-Friedman, Professor of Psychology, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
• Lin Peng, Krell Chair Professor in Finance, Zicklin School of Business
• Linda Essig, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Research and Teaching: Climate and Sustainability

10:30 am–11:30 am

Moderator: Anna D’Souza, Associate Professor, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs

Local Waterways and Coastal Ecosystems
Chester Zarnoch, Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Bringing Oysters Back to NYC: Research, Education, and Outreach Working with the BOP
Stephen Gosnell, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Food Production, Factory Farming, Environmental Impacts
Valerie Watnick, Professor and Chair, Department of Law, Zicklin School of Business

Climate Impacts and Environmental Justice
Shelly Eversley, Professor of English and Interim Chair, Black and Latino Studies, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Break

11:30 am–11:45 am

Research and Teaching: Climate and Sustainability Part II

11:45 am–12:45 pm

Moderator: Terrence Martell, Saxe Distinguished Professor of Finance and Director Emeritus of the Weissman Center for International Business, Zicklin School of Business

Developing Leaders to Save the Planet: The Case of the Zicklin School of Business
Cynthia Thompson, Professor, Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management, Zicklin School of Business

Climate Change, Real Estate Markets, and Teaching Initiatives at the Newman Institute
Yildiray Yildirim, Professor and Chair, William Newman Department of Real Estate, Zicklin School of Business

ESG, Energy, Incentives, and Regulation
Nizan Geslevich Packin, Professor, Department of Law, Zicklin School of Business

Retrofitting Social and Behavioral Sciences to Address Questions Related to Climate Change Impact
Frank Heiland, Professor, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs

Lunch

12:45 pm–1:45 pm

Deans’ Panel: Interdisciplinary Collaboration

1:45 pm–2:30 pm

Moderator: Raquel Benbunan-Fich, Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Research, and Innovation, Professor of Information Systems and Statistics, Zicklin School of Business

Dean Jessica Lang, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday, Zicklin School of Business

Dean Sherry Ryan, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs

Break

2:30 pm–2:45 pm

Climate Change, Disclosure, and Firm Outcomes

2:45 pm–3:45 pm

Moderator: Jun Wang, Professor and Chair, Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, Zicklin School of Business

Role of Political Beliefs in Investor and Firm Attitudes Toward CSR
Leonard Kostovetsky, Associate Professor, Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, Zicklin School of Business

Corporate Governance and Sustainability
Yao Shen, Assistant Professor, Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, Zicklin School of Business

ESG Disclosure and Corporate Investment
Joonsung Won, PhD student, Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, Zicklin School of Business

ESG Disclosure, Performance, and Stock Returns
Mehmet Ozbilgin, Assistant Professor, Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, Zicklin School of Business

Break

3:45 pm–4:00 pm

Collaborating for a Sustainable Future: Perspectives from the Public and Private Sectors

4:00pm–5:00pm

Moderator: Lin Peng, Krell Chair Professor in Finance, Zicklin School of Business

NYC’s governmental and corporate partners:

John Adler, Chief ESG Officer, NYC Comptroller’s Office

Sonay Aykan, Associate Director ESG and Sustainability, Colgate-Palmolive

Salome Makharadze, Millennium Fellow, the Atlantic Council; Managing Director, Alternatives Capital Markets and Strategy Group at Goldman Sachs

Julie Santoro, Partner and ESG Reporting Lead, Department of Professional Practice, KPMG

Closing Remarks

5:00 pm–5:15 pm

Professors Mindy Engle-Friedman and Lin Peng

Registration for this event has closed.

• Part I: Research and Teaching: Climate and Sustainability
• Part II: Research and Teaching: Climate and Sustainability
• Part III: Deans’ Panel: Interdiscplinary Collaboration
• Part IV: Firm Outcomes