Throughout his career, Gerald Parsky '64 has consistently risen to the top in a variety of interests. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury just 10 years out of college and now the founder of an investment firm, his resume reads like a how-to book on success.
Parsky has enjoyed careers as varied as an English teacher and a worldwide attorney and has come into contact with some of the most prominent people of the last 30 years.
"[Parsky's] basic attitude is to solve problems, not create them," former Secretary of State George Schultz '42 said. This persistent attitude has seen Parsky go from captaining the Princeton soccer team to helping found the first federal energy office to becoming the chairman of the University of California Board of Regents.
Making his way up
Born in West Hartford, Conn., Parsky attended Suffield Academy in northern Connecticut. He chose Princeton because it was "a campus environment that is close enough to a big city in New York, but [it] still had a campus."
He also appreciated the University's "emphasis on undergraduate education and the fact that you were taught in small classes by professors," he said.
While at the University, Parsky played on the freshmen baseball team as well as varsity soccer, captaining the team his senior year.
A member of Cottage Club, he majored in English.
"I've always been very interested in English and my thesis was on E.M. Forster, who wrote Passage to India, among others," he said.
After graduation, Parsky returned to Suffield Academy to teach English for one year while he debated whether to attend graduate school to continue his study of English or to attend law school, ultimately choosing the latter.
After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, Parksy joined a Manhattan law firm as an associate in 1968.
Soon after, he received a golden opportunity from a former professor at UVA.
Edwin Cohen, assistant secretary of the Treasury for tax policy during the Nixon Administration, was looking for an assistant and turned to Parsky.
"He called me out of the blue," said Parsky, adding that he "had no political background at all."
The prospect of working at the Treasury was appealing for the young lawyer.
"A few years worth of experience in the Treasury tax group is worth a career," said Schultz, who was secretary of the Treasury at the time. "The Treasury has the ability to attract absolutely the top quality lawyers."
In 1973, Parsky moved on to the new Federal Energy Office to handle that year's energy crisis.
"I was involved in allocating oil so I could say how long the gasoline lines would be in various states" said Parsky, referring to the long waits at fuel pumps that people experienced.
Success at the top
At the end of the energy crisis, it looked like Parsky's work at the Federal Energy Office was coming to a close. But Schultz had a surprise for him.
Parsky was offered a position as assistant secretary of the Treasury in 1974, making him the youngest person ever to hold that rank.
"It's not age, it's what they can do," Schultz said of his young deputy. Nominated and confirmed in June 1974, Parsky oversaw 1,200 people and worked until after the 1976 election.
Schultz remembered Parsky well and recalled a particular vignette. While at a meeting, the head of Time Magazine, Ralph Davidson, challenged Schultz and Parsky to a tennis match.
Davidson "wound up with a ringer — a member of the Princeton tennis team!" Schultz said. "We beat them, as I recall. Gerry is a very good player."
After leaving the Treasury, Parsky had the idea "to build a law practice out of the movement of capital." He went to California to consult with Schultz, then a professor at Stanford University.
Parsky partnered with William French Smith, Ronald Reagan's lawyer, to open offices around the world, including Los Angeles and Saudi Arabia.
He stayed with the firm until 1991, when he established his own investment company Aurora Capital, which he has run in Los Angeles for the past 14 years.
Deeply involved
Apart from his business life, Parsky has been extremely active in local and national affairs. He developed an interest in higher education, serving for a period as University trustee, combining his national service ethos with continued support for his alma mater.
"Princeton's education is both academic and there's this feeling that you should think about ways to give back to your community," he said.
He and his family founded a scholarship to support one Princeton student every year, alternating between a male and female student.
Parsky also became involved with the University of California system. In 1998, Gov. Pete Wilson asked him to become a member of the University's Board of Regents. And this past year, under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Parsky has become the chairman of the board.
Parsky has remained active in Republican politics and served as chairman of President Bush's reelection campaign efforts in California. He knows both the president and vice president well, and has worked for them in a number of capacities, including a stint as a member of the Social Security commission.
Read More
GSG approves audit, delays budget approval after ‘insufferable’ meeting
Nikki HanThe final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
The final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
Effort to restore chapel’s pews slowly progresses
Ben GoldstonHead carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Head carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Metals, molecules, and medicine: chemical biology’s influence on health and sustainability
Aanya KaseraChemistry professor Chris Chang’s lab studies the chemical biology of the elements, specifically examining the roles that copper, iron, and zinc play in biology across all kingdoms of life.
Chemistry professor Chris Chang’s lab studies the chemical biology of the elements, specifically examining the roles that copper, iron, and zinc play in biology across all kingdoms of life.