May 09, 2013
DePaul's Real Estate Center honors Douglas Crocker II at its 10th anniversary gala
DePaul's Real Estate Center honors Douglas Crocker II at its 10th anniversary gala
CHICAGO — In its first 10 years, DePaul University’s Real
Estate Center has amassed an impressive array of research on everything from
Millennium Park to brownfield development to the impact of credit constraints
on multifamily housing.
“When we created the Real Estate Center in academic year
2002-03, our goal was to become the premier resource for professional real
estate education in the Midwest, and I believe that we have done that,” said
Susanne Cannon, the Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Director of the Real Estate
Center at DePaul.
Center activities include hosting an annual spring
conference on capital markets and an annual fall conference on land use issues.
In addition, the center offers programs for real estate professionals to stay
abreast of current topics of interest in the industry.
On its 10th anniversary, it honored nationally renowned real
estate executive and philanthropist Douglas Crocker II, who has been
instrumental in the center’s growth, development and prestige. Crocker was
honored at a May 1 dinner.
“As a nationally recognized leader in the real estate
investment trust and multi-housing industries, he has been an invaluable asset
for us,” Cannon said. “We are extremely grateful for the time, expertise and
resources he has devoted to the center.”
Crocker, who is chairman of Pearlmark Multifamily Partners
LLC, has more than 40 years of real estate experience, serving as vice chairman
and CEO of Equity Residential, managing director of real estate at Prudential
Securities, CEO of McKinley Financial Group and president of American Invesco.
Crocker is a former trustee of DePaul University and founding member of the
Driehaus College of Business’ Real Estate Center, which he and his wife,
Cynthia, endowed with the directorship in 2005.
The May 1 event kicked off fundraising efforts for the
Douglas Crocker Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will be awarded to academically
outstanding graduate real estate students at DePaul.
Among the accomplishments of the Real Estate Center in its
first 10 years:
- In 2007, The Real Estate Center joined The Preservation Compact, a coalition of Chicago-area real estate, finance, philanthropic, nonprofit and government organizations to launch a multifaceted program to preserve affordable rental housing for low- and middle-income families in the Chicago region. The Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul was created from that to serve as a clearinghouse for rental housing data and track the status of affordable rental housing in the region.
- Conducted a 2011 study with Texas A&M University that showed Chicago’s Millennium Park has benefitted the city in numerous ways, including spurring a real estate boom that added thousands of residential units to the East Loop and generating billions of dollars in additional tourism revenue.
- Created a travel scholarship program with a gift from Charles H. Wurtzebach and Susan M. Marshall that allows students to attend real estate conferences and events across the United States, giving them the opportunity to extend their education outside the classroom and into the real world. In 2012, 32 students benefited from the travel scholarship program, which is supplemented by the center.
- Increased academic scholarship awards from $3,000 in 2003 to more than $45,000 in 2012. This number will continue to grow with thanks to funding from the Douglas Crocker Endowed Scholarship.
- Hosts an annual Collegiate Real Estate Conference that brings students from universities across the Midwest to engage with established real estate professionals representing multiple industries (brokerage, development, financial investment, etc.). Students have the opportunity to learn about the variety of careers that are available to them as real estate majors.
###
About DePaul's Real Estate Center
With the most comprehensive array of real estate courses available in Chicago, the Real Estate Center at DePaul University is the premier resource for professional real estate education in the Midwest. The Real Estate Center serves as the heart of Chicago’s real estate community and has an active network of students, alumni, public institutions, private real estate firms, scholars and executives-in-residence. The Department of Real Estate provides traditional academic programs and the Real Estate Center offers high-profile continuing education and conferences of specific interest to the real estate community. For more information about the Real Estate Center, visit http://realestatecenter.depaul.edu/index.asp.
The Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul University, thanks Douglas Crocker II, a nationally respected real estate executive and philanthropist who has been instrumental in the growth of The Real Estate Center at DePaul. The Real Estate Center serves as the heart of Chicago's real estate community and has an active network of students, alumni, public institutions, private real estate firms, scholars and executives-in-residence.