Jerry MacArthur Hultin Jerry MacArthur Hultin ( born May 17 , 1942 ) was the United States Under Secretary of the Navy from 1997 to 2000 . He was the president of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University from 2005 until 2012 . Biography . Jerry MacArthur Hultin attended Ohio State University , receiving his B . A . in 1964 . While an undergraduate , he participated in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps and was commissioned as an officer of the United States Navy . He subsequently served in the Navy 1964 - 1969 , seeing action in the Vietnam War . Upon leaving the Navy , he enrolled at Yale Law School and received his J . D . in 1972 , where he was classmates with future - President Bill Clinton , future - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton , future - Senator Richard Blumenthal , and future - Secretary of Labor Robert Reich . Hultin spent the next 25 years in the private sector . He was one of the partners in the law firm of Warner & Hultin , before moving on to work at Jefferson Partners , a merchant bank ing and strategic management consulting firm . As a consultant , Hultin worked in a variety of areas , including technology , defense , health care , finance , and the environment . During his time at Jefferson Partners , Hultin also served on the Board of Directors of Freddie Mac from 1993 to 1997 . He was also appointed to be a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel . President of the United States Bill Clinton nominated Hultin as Under Secretary of the Navy on September 16 , 1997 . Following confirmation by the United States Senate , Hultin assumed his duties on November 13 , 1997 . As Under Secretary , Hultin commissioned a study conducted by the National Defense University on the impact of globalization on American armed forces that led to a two - volume published report , " The Global Century : Globalization and National Security " . He also led the Department of the Navy ' s Revolution in Business Affairs , which sought to apply business techniques to the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps . He also oversaw the construction of the Navy and Marine Corps ' intranet . Hultin left office on July 14 , 2000 . Upon leaving the government , Hultin became dean of the Wesley J . Howe School of Technology Management at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken , New Jersey . He promoted Stevens as bringing technological innovations to the realm of homeland security and military defense . In 2003 , during the Iraq War , Hultin served as on - air military expert for WNBC in New York City . In 2004 , he authored a much cited study , " Securing the Port of New York and New Jersey : Network - centric Operations Applied to the Campaign against Terrorism " . On July 1 , 2005 , Hultin became president of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University . He has overseen substantial growth and financial stability at the institution . He championed an affiliation with NYU , which was formalized in July 2008 and gave the institution a global platform while adding engineering to NYU ' s diverse list of subject disciplines . One of Hultin ' s first steps as the new president was to embrace a focus on " i - squared - e " — invention , innovation and entrepreneurship — to encourage educated risk - taking among faculty and students . In addition to integrating these skills into academics , NYU - Poly under Hultin collaborated with city and state governments and private industry to launch 3 business incubators and economic initiatives including the NYC Media Lab . During his tenure , enrollment increased by 57 percent , and the number of faculty positions is increasing . A $ 65 million capital plan is refreshing and expanding the downtown Brooklyn campus on MetroTech Center and will support a biomedical research center with NYU in Manhattan . NYU - Poly is also a partner in the NYU Center for Urban Science & Research , a public - private research center that will expand the MetroTech campus . Hultin is a board director of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering , BritishAmerican Business , Inc . ( BABI ) , the New York City Building Congress , the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership , the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and is a director of the New York Council of the Navy League of the United States . He is an honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association , the founding chairman of the Technology Management Education Association and an advisor to senior military and defense leaders . The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations awarded him the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2010 .