DePaul University has named James D. Shilling, one of the nation’s foremost experts in real estate economics, finance and investment, as its Michael J. Horne Chair in Real Estate Studies. The new research and teaching position is funded by a $4 million endowment underwritten by the Michael J. Horne Education & Healthcare Assistance Foundation.

Shilling will join the university’s finance department faculty in January to spearhead research for the Real Estate Center at DePaul, teach in the university’s highly ranked MBA program, and foster educational and research connections to Chicago’s real estate community. He comes to DePaul from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is the James A. Graaskamp Chair of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics.

“Jim Shilling’s appointment through this generous gift brings one of the country’s top real estate authorities to DePaul and advances the Real Estate Center’s mission to become a world-class center for real estate study, research and outreach,” said Susanne Cannon, the Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Director of the center.

Shilling said he looks forward to sharing his knowledge with the working professionals in DePaul’s evening MBA program and forging links to Chicago’s robust real estate industry. “What most attracted me to DePaul’s real estate program is its strong connections to the Chicago business community,” he said. “I am excited about partnering with one of the best real estate communities in the country to produce relevant research and immerse DePaul’s business students in real-world real estate practice.”

The Michael J. Horne Education & Healthcare Assistance Foundation was formed by family and friends of the late Michael J. Horne, a Los Angeles real estate professional, after his death in 1985. The foundation has previously donated scholarship funds and helped finance housing facilities for DePaul students.

“The foundation is deeply gratified that it is able to help DePaul University advance its educational mission,” said Ben Noble, a representative of the foundation.

The Horne endowment is the third, seven-figure gift that the Real Estate Center has attracted in the past 14 months. Alumnus George L. Ruff, founder and senior principal of New York-based Trinity Hotel Investors LLC, donated $1.5 million in September. Last year Douglas Crocker II, retired CEO of Equity Residential Properties Trust, and his wife, Cynthia, donated $2 million.

“These gifts not only recognize the quality of our real estate programs but also expand DePaul’s capacity to produce research that will have a significant impact on societal issues involving housing, commercial real estate and land use,” said Ali Fatemi, finance department chair.

A prolific scholar, Shilling has produced more than 80 journal articles, studies, books and book chapters. His work has examined real estate investment trusts and the role of real estate in institutional investors’ portfolios; mortgage securitization; commercial mortgage default; real estate asset pricing; housing finance and urban economics. He is currently studying options for countries worldwide to develop real estate finance systems and government policies that encourage affordable housing. Shilling’s work has been widely honored, including a Literati Club Award for Excellence, an American Real Estate Society Best Paper Award and an American Association of Individual Investors Best Paper Award in Real Estate.

Shilling holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Otterbein College and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Purdue University. He has been a member of the University of Wisconsin’s faculty since 1990 and also taught at Cambridge University, where he was the Grosvenor Professor of Real Estate Finance. He previously lectured at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Louisiana State University.

Shilling is a past president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association and editor of its top-ranked journal Real Estate Economics. He has been honored by a number of prestigious organizations and is a fellow of several, including the Urban Land Institute, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Real Estate Research Institute and Homer Hoyt Advanced Studies Institute.

ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE CENTER AT DEPAUL

Founded in 2002 with funding from more than 40 prominent real estate executives and institutions, The Real Estate Center at DePaul provides the most comprehensive array of real estate courses available in the Midwest. The center offers an MBA concentration in real estate finance and investment and a master’s of science degree in real estate studies at DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, as well as the only undergraduate real estate major in Illinois. Continuing education courses, tailored training programs and industry conferences on relevant real estate issues are also offered.

Though housed in the finance department, the programs are multidisciplinary, encompassing marketing, law and public policy. Students benefit from pragmatic courses that use the Chicago-area real estate market as a laboratory for research and hands-on experience. Current career-focused paths of study prepare students for a broad range of options in brokerage, consulting, development, institutional investment, finance, planning, real estate law, asset management, lending and construction.

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For a photo of James D. Shilling, the Real Estate Center at DePaul's new Michael J. Horne Chair in Real Estate Studies, click here.