Syracuse University names Greenwood CEO David Klein to Board of Trustees
David Klein’s trustee seat puts a major construction executive closer to Syracuse University’s workforce pipeline. His Greenwood ties already reach the JMA Wireless Dome and an iSchool scholarship.
Syracuse University’s choice of David S. Klein ’93 for its Board of Trustees brings one of the Northeast’s largest commercial roofing executives into the room as the school sharpens its role in Central New York’s economy. Klein, founder and CEO of Greenwood Industries, was named one of two new trustees for the 2026-27 academic year, a move that could deepen ties between Syracuse, regional employers and the student pipeline that feeds internships and jobs.
The university said Klein joins Sean C. O’Keefe G’78 as the new trustee appointees, while four new student representatives also joined the board. Board chairman Jeff Scruggs said the appointments add “distinguished voices from industry and from public service,” along with critical perspective on governance and the student experience.
Klein already has deep Syracuse roots. He graduated from one of the first classes of the precursor to the School of Information Studies, joined the iSchool Board of Advisors in March 2025 and serves on the Athletics Orange Council. In 2020, he and his wife, Elizabeth ’93, established the George Klein Endowed Scholarship for Worcester-area students with demonstrated financial need.
His business has become a significant regional player. Syracuse University describes Greenwood Industries as the leading provider of commercial roofing and building envelope solutions in the Northeast, and says it ranks as the sixth largest roofing contractor and eighth largest masonry contractor in the United States. The iSchool says Klein started the company about six months after graduating from Syracuse and has grown it to 11 offices in five states and more than 900 employees.
That scale matters for Onondaga County. Greenwood’s work already touched campus in 2020, when the company completed the re-roofing of the JMA Wireless Dome, the covered stadium that opened in 1980 and remains the first and only one of its kind in New York State. The project was finished before Syracuse football’s season-opening win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 26, 2020.
Klein’s elevation to trustee also follows a leadership change at Greenwood. On June 11, 2024, the company said he would move from president to CEO so he could step away from day-to-day operations and focus on long-term strategy. From Syracuse’s perspective, that long view could prove important if the university wants more than ceremonial industry ties and is aiming for concrete partnerships that connect students to construction, facilities, engineering and operations work across Central New York.
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