Students From Five Universities Gather At DePaul University April 8 To Explore Career Options In The Real Estate Industry

As the job-seeking season for graduating college students gets underway with real estate representing a hot career field, nearly 200 students from DePaul University and five other universities will gather at DePaul April 8 to hear advice and network with prominent real estate industry leaders.

The first-ever Collegiate Real Estate Conference, sponsored by Real Estate Center at DePaul, will be held from noon to 5:30 p.m. in Room 8005 at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. Invited students will have opportunities to meet in small groups with prominent Chicago real estate professionals, who will share their insights into career paths, placement and compensation. Students from DePaul, University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School, Indiana University and University of Cincinnati will participate.

The Real Estate Center at DePaul has received a record number of job listings for positions in the industry this year. The field offers diverse choices, with qualified candidates being sought by developers, lenders, property managers, real estate financiers, consulting organizations, planning agencies and legal firms, according to Susanne Cannon, director of the Real Estate Center at DePaul. “Real estate offers excellent career opportunities for college graduates because the demand for well-educated job candidates continues to grow in all areas of the industry,” Cannon said. “This conference will allow students to explore these opportunities and make valuable connections.”

The conference program features distinguished real estate leaders, including a keynote panel of Mary Ludgin, managing director and director of investment research for Heitman Real Estate Investment Management; Will McIntosh, managing director and head of global research at ING Clarion Partners; Robert White, president of Real Capital Analytics; Jacques Gordon, international director of research for LaSalle Investment Management; and Ward Feste, managing director of Carlyle Group Ltd.

Following the luncheon presentation there will be eight breakout sessions that will feature experts in their respective fields: brokerage, consulting, development, institutional investment, planning, law, asset management, lending and construction. Students will have the opportunities to interact with top professionals during these sessions.

Chicago is an especially active hub for finding real estate industry jobs because many national organizations and companies are headquartered in the city and the real estate market remains vibrant here, Cannon said. “That's why this conference is drawing students from out of state. About 45 are coming from Indiana University alone.”

Launched in 2002, Real Estate Center at DePaul offers Chicago’s most comprehensive array of real estate education, research and networking opportunities funded by more than $1.6 million from 40 prominent industry executives and institutions. The center offers a real estate graduate degree taught in DePaul’s highly ranked and fully accredited MBA program. In January, it introduced a new undergraduate major in real estate. About 300 undergraduates and 150 graduate students have taken introductory real estate courses this academic year. More than 70 MBA students are concentrating in real estate finance and investment and 70 undergraduates have declared real estate their major.

Note to Editors: Journalists interested in covering the Collegiate Real Estate Conference should make prior arrangements by contacting Robin Florzak, director of DePaul Media Relations, at 312/362-8592 or rflorzak@depaul.edu.