Date: Feb 23, 2007

Tejinder Pal Singh Bindra, Martin B. Greenberg Join Hofstra Board of Trustees

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Tejinder (T.J.) Pal Singh Bindra, senior vice president of Jeetish Group of Companies, and Martin B. Greenberg, '60, founder and chairman of the board of Sterling Commodities Corporation, have been named to the Hofstra University Board of Trustees, Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz announced today.

“I am delighted to welcome T.J. and Marty to the Board of Trustees,” President Rabinowitz said. “They have both demonstrated their commitment to Hofstra University and to our goal of continually enhancing Hofstra's reputation as an institution of excellence and elevating its prominence among the very best institutions of higher education."

"T.J. and Marty give Hofstra's Board of Trustees added depth and expertise not only because of their considerable business and financial expertise but also through their work with various foundations and charities," said John D. Miller, chairman of the Board of Trustees. "Their experience will be invaluable as we work to take the University to the next level of academic excellence and national prominence."

Mr. Bindra immigrated to the United States in 1979 after earning an M.B.A. from the University of Himachal Pradesh and co-founded Jeetish Group, an import company, along with his father and brother. Through the years, Jeetish diversified into other businesses, all under the Jeetish umbrella, with interests in apparel, export/import and real estate.

Mr. Bindra co-founded the Sikh Temple on Long Island in 1987. In 1999 he was the convener of Sri Hem Kunt Foundation’s international conference to mark the 300th anniversary of the Sikh Khalsa. In July 2000, Mr. Bindra was the convener for the International Punjabi Society’s convention in New York City, the largest gathering of its kind by the Indian community in the United States.

He is the founder and president of the Sikh Organization of New York and has led two successful delegations to the New York state government on behalf of the Sikh American community. His efforts resulted in Baisakhi, the Khalsa New Year, being recognized as a “Sikh American Day” by the state government, and in the introduction of a New York State Assembly resolution for the freedom of state police and other state employees to wear turbans.

With his father and the Bindra family, Mr. Bindra endowed the Sardarni Kuljit Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies at Hofstra University, named for his mother. He and the Bindra family have also established The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize at Hofstra, an international prize to be awarded to an individual or organization that promotes harmony and peaceful coexistence among various religions.Mr. Bindra was honored in 2006 at Hofstra University’s Saltzman Community Services Center gala fundraiser. He is involved in many social, educational and cultural activities that promote the betterment of the society in which he lives with his wife, Harinder, and their children, Raj and Sumeet.

Mr. Greenberg served as a board member of the Commodities Exchange Inc., and later as its chairman from 1990 to 1992. He is credited with leading the effort to turn the fiscally distressed Commodities Exchange into a viable entity.

As a Hofstra student (industrial accounting major), Mr. Greenberg was involved in a number of organizations and activities. "Being president of Student Council was a great experience," he said. "It taught me how to work within a large group of people and also how to lead." His other extracurricular activities included freshman lacrosse, Student Government Association and the Accounting, Economics and Political Affairs clubs.

After graduating from Hofstra in 1960, he worked in the stock brokerage business, focusing on common stocks and underwriting. He worked for a family business for a decade, and between 1970 and 1976 held a few different positions in the fields of investment banking and importing. In 1976 he started his career as an independent floor trader at the Commodities Exchange. He founded Sterling Commodities in 1982.

Mr. Greenberg's other professional affiliations include the United Nations Development Corporation from 1992 to 1995; Casino America in Biloxi, Mississippi, from 1993 to 1997; Westair Inc. in Fresno, California, from 1989 to 1991; and Landmark Bank in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1984 to 1987.

Mr. Greenberg is also an active philanthropist. "I feel I am incredibly fortunate. It is important to me to give back to the world that has given me so much," he said. He serves as an associate trustee for North Shore University Hospital, and in 1992 he received the Anti-Defamation League Metals Industry Man of the Year Award. In 1998 he established the Martin B. Greenberg Foundation Inc. to focus on charitable projects.
Mr. Greenberg resides in Mill Neck, New York. He has two children and four grandchildren.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students find their edge to succeed in more than 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. Hofstra provides a college experience tailored for innately ambitious, outcome-oriented individuals. Students are prepared for successful careers through small classes, a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence, cutting edge technology, extensive library resources, internships and special educational programs that appeal to their interests and abilities.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.