Joe Palazzolo, Ed.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Management and Leadership within the Leon Hess Business School. He began his teaching career at Monmouth University in 2007. In his prior career as a community development lender, Palazzolo deployed nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in community development investments that supported almost a billion dollars of real estate development, small business entrepreneurship, and arts-based projects throughout New Jersey. He is a nationally-recognized leader in facility financing for innovative education programs and a thought leader in New Jersey’s nonprofit community. He also owns and is the managing director of several businesses, each with an international footprint.

Outside of his professional obligations, Palazzolo is an award-winning community volunteer. This service includes volunteering as the off-campus alumni advisor for the Monmouth University chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity and his prior service as the chairman of the fraternity’s National Board of Directors. Palazzolo also serves as a sounding board and advisor to the University’s Interfraternity Council and Greek Senate. He is a founding member of both his local parish’s Knights of Columbus Council and the Monmouth University Knights of Columbus Council. Within the University community, Palazzolo was a member of the Department of Athletics’s Blue/White Leadership Committee, and is the current faculty mentor for the men’s tennis team. He also served on the University’s LMS Re-Evaluation Committee and the Leon Hess Business School’s Societal Impact Committee. He currently serves on the business school’s Faculty Development Committee and operates the AIM Series, featuring University alumni speaking about their professional career paths.

Education

Ed.D., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Post-Master’s Certificate, Curriculum Studies, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ

Graduate Certificate, Public Relations Specialist, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ

M.A., Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

B.A., Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ

Research Interests

Teaching interests and areas of expertise include leadership, organizational strategy, professional communication, entrepreneurship, ethical and socially responsible business operations, and nonprofit board development.

Publications

Scholarly Publications, Presentations, and Panels

Palazzolo, J. V., & Navarro, C. A. (2023, June 2). Building a sustainable economy and reducing income gaps through financial literacy [Conference presentation]. STAR Symposium, West Long Branch, NJ, United States.

Palazzolo, J. V., & Devasagayam, R. (2023). Exploring Place-Based Pedagogy as Entrepreneurship Accelerator. Metropolitan Universities, 34, 27-42. DOI: 10.18060/26459

Palazzolo, J. V., & Skiba, M. (2022). Teaching management skills that matter in professional life. AACSB Insights.

Palazzolo, J. V., Gomez, S., & Torchio, L. (2021, November 5). Business & community impacts from covid-19 [Conference presentation abstract]. Forty-eighth annual conference of the Northeast Business & Economics Association, Atlantic City, NJ, United States.

Palazzolo, J. V., & Apgar, L. (2021, October 7). Using nontraditional loan funds for covid-19 small business recovery [Conference presentation abstract]. Twenty-eighth annual conference of the Institute of Behavioral and Applied Management, Zoom.

Professional Presentations and Panels

(2022). DEI in the Classroom, New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration Association, Quarterly Meeting, Ewing, NJ.

(2021). Creative Financing for Creative Placemaking, National Consortium for Creative Placemaking, Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit, Online.

(2020). Charter Schools & Community Facility Financing, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.

(2019). Understanding NJ’s Successful “Friends of” Facilities Financing Experiment, New Jersey Charter Schools Association’s Annual Conference, Atlantic City, NJ.

(2018). Charter School Facilities & Financing, New Jersey Charter Schools Association’s Annual Conference, Newark, NJ.

(2018). Rutgers Alumni Entrepreneur Panel, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.

(2017). Charter Schools & New Markets Tax Credits, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.

(2017). Facility Financing Lessons from the Real World, New Jersey Charter Schools Association’s Annual Conference, Newark, NJ.

(2016). A Conversation with Non-Traditional and Traditional Muni Buyers, SMITH’s High-Yield Municipal Bond Conference, Greenwich, CT.

(2016). Putting Together a Winning Project Team, New Jersey Charter Schools Association’s Annual Conference, Atlantic City, NJ.

(2015). Essential Questions About Facility Finance, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

(2014). The Benefits & Economic Impact of Child Care Services for Towns, New Jersey State League of Municipalities’ Annual Conference, Atlantic City, NJ.

(2013). Financing Charter School Facilities, National Charter School Resource Center, National Webinar, Washington, DC.

Selected Volunteer Presentations

(2023). Understanding the Future Through Today’s Data & Trends, Monmouth University’s 7th Annual Monmouth LEADS Conference, West Long Branch, NJ.

(2021). Data-Driven Leadership in a Post-Covid World, Monmouth University’s 6th Annual Monmouth LEADS Conference, West Long Branch, NJ.

(2021). Data-Driven Leadership: The Future by the Numbers, Monmouth University’s 5th Annual Monmouth LEADS Conference, West Long Branch, NJ.

(2020). Data-Driven Leadership: What the Data Says About the Future of FSL, Monmouth University’s 4th Annual Monmouth LEADS Conference, West Long Branch, NJ.

(2019). Living Leadership: Meetings, Managing Members, Recruiting Members, & More. Monmouth University’s 3rd Annual Monmouth LEADS Conference, West Long Branch, NJ.

(2018). Nonprofit Boards of Directors, Sigma Pi Fraternity, International’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference, St. Louis, MO.

(2016). Best Practices for Undergraduate Interaction, Sigma Pi Fraternity, International’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference, St. Louis, MO.

(2015). True Greek Leadership, Sigma Pi Fraternity, International’s New Jersey Province, Orange, NJ.

Awards

2013
NJCSA Advocate of the Year