Center Raises $1.2 Million from Chicago Real Estate Executives & Institutions Since June

Building on a foundation of academic excellence and institutional experience in real estate, DePaul University announces the launch of The Real Estate Center of DePaul.

The center will sponsor a wide array of new and existing education, research, conference and career enhancement programs tailored to the needs of Chicago’s thriving community of real estate institutions, trade organizations, investors, developers and homebuilders.

DePaul began raising money for the center in June and already has met its goal of attracting $1.2 million in operating funds for the next three years. More than 20 founding sponsors have contributed to the center, including such real estate executives as Richard A. Hanson, principal of Mesa Development LLC, which is developing Heritage on Millennium Park, and Robert Wislow, chairman and CEO of U.S. Equities Realty. Institutional sponsors include banks, such as LaSalle Bank; law firms, such as Piper, Rudnick LLP and Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal; residential estate investment trusts, such as Equity Residential; and real estate organizations, such as the Real Estate Investment Association and the Real Estate Finance Forum.

Founders, faculty, staff, students and DePaul alumni officially launch the center at an open house Nov. 19.

“Our goal is to make DePaul the premier center for professional real estate education in the Midwest,” said center director Susanne Cannon, a finance professor at DePaul.

The center has attracted enthusiastic support from the real estate community because of DePaul’s rich history in both teaching and developing real estate, Cannon said.

“DePaul has been teaching real estate since 1913,” she said. “The university’s highly ranked and accredited business school now offers the most comprehensive array of real estate courses available in Chicago at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, including courses offered by the finance department in real estate analysis, valuation, finance and investments.”

Cannon said DePaul’s finance department finance department has forged strong connections in the city’s real estate community and built a solid reputation for providing pragmatic, technologically advanced real estate education.

DePaul’s administrative expertise in developing and managing innovative real estate projects also provides the institution with credibility in the field, she said. These projects include creation of the partnership to launch University Center of Chicago, the nation’s largest multi-college residence hall, under construction in the South Loop; the transformation of the landmark Goldblatt’s Department Store on State Street into the mixed-use DePaul Center; and development of residence halls that combine student housing with retail in Lincoln Park

The Real Estate Center at DePaul’s initiatives include:

* Real estate degrees.A new interdisciplinary MBA degree concentration in real estate finance and investment begins in January. The program encompasses courses in finance, economics, public policy, geography, marketing, management, entrepreneurship and law. An undergraduate real estate degree is planned for fall 2003, and a Master of Science in Real Estate degree may be launched in the future. Real estate is a popular offering at DePaul, with more than 150 MBA and undergraduate students enrolling in real estate courses annually.

* The hiring of distinguished real estate executives to teach at DePaul. Hanson and Alan Schachtman, senior vice president for development for U.S. Equities Realty, will teach a course in real estate development this winter. Douglas Crocker, CEO of Equity Residential, has been hired as an executive-in-residence and will teach courses with Cannon in real estate finance and investment this spring.

* Credential and certificate programs co-sponsored with prominent real estate associations including the Institute for Real Estate Management and the Certified Commercial Investment Member organization. A Commercial Real Estate certificate program will be offered four times this year for mid-level and senior real estate professionals.

* Conferences that explore important real estate issues. The center, DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development and Lambda Alpha International, the honorary land economics society, sponsored a one-day symposium on transportation and land use Nov. 15.

* Directed research and case writing grants to bring practical research into the classroom.

* Student scholarships, internships and seminar paper writing competitions, as well as networking, career planning and mentoring programs for students and alumni.

The center’s activities are being shaped by people with formidable academic and professional credentials in real estate. Cannon has taught real estate analysis and investment at DePaul for 12 years and is the co-author of “Modern Real Estate,” the leading textbook on real estate principles.

As a two-term president the Chicago chapter of Lambda Alpha International, Cannon has co-chaired three major conferences on timely real estate issues in Chicago. She also coordinated a joint effort of the society and the Chicago chapters of the American Institute of Architects and the Urban Land Institute to study and make recommendations for the preservation and re-use of the historic market square in the town of Pullman, now part of Chicago. The project earned her a Solon Beman award from the Historic Pullman Association. Cannon’s research interests focus on the impact of technology on real estate analysis, practice and teaching, real estate portfolio allocation and zoning and land use issues.

Another key backer of the center has been Ken McHugh, DePaul’s executive vice president for operations, who has overseen nearly $500-million in real estate projects for the university since he joined its administration in 1981. His expertise in real estate matters led to the construction of six new residence halls, new athletic and recreation centers, a library and student center on the Lincoln Park Campus, as well as the opening of five new suburban DePaul campuses during the last two decades.

McHugh spearheaded the development of the abandoned Goldblatt’s Department Store into the DePaul Center in 1993—a move that helped spur the rejuvenation of South State Street. He also brought together DePaul, Columbia College and Roosevelt University with the City of Chicago to build University Center, which is slated to open at State Street and Congress Parkway in the fall 2004.

Editor’s Note: Reporters interested in interviewing Susanne Cannon or Richard Hanson should call Robin Florzak, DePaul Media Relations, at 312/362-8592.