UNC Charlotte announced today that its Center for Real Estate has launched a $4 million fundraising campaign, “Developing Talent, Building the Future.”
Campaign co-chairs Fred Klein, senior managing partner at Childress Klein Properties, and Todd Mansfield, chairman and CEO of Crosland LLC, made the announcement during a celebration at the Harris Alumni Center attended by members of the Real Estate Advisory Board, friends of the Center and the campaign committee.
Klein and Mansfield reported that more than $3 million already has been pledged toward the campaign goal.
“The Center for Real Estate at UNC Charlotte has become well-known in the Charlotte region as a valuable resource for industry leaders seeking workplace talent, professional development and top-quality research,” Klein said. “This campaign will enable the Center to expand its scope and reach its goal of preeminence on a national level.”
Priorities for the “Developing Talent, Building the Future” campaign include:
- Adding a second endowed professorship in real estate
- Endowing scholarships for master’s-level real estate students
- Funding fellowships for Ph.D. students who wish to become professors of real estate
- Enhancing research opportunities through funded projects; and
- Expanding the real estate curriculum.
Donors committed more than $3.2 million during the quiet phase of the campaign. Lead contributors to date include:
-
Bissell – $500,000
-
Childress Klein Properties – $500,000
-
Crosland – $500,000
-
American Asset Corporation – $500,000
-
The Wachovia Foundation – $500,000
- Batson-Cook Company – $250,000
- Shelco, Inc. – $100,000
- Wells Fargo – $50,000
- Steve and Connie Ott – $50,000
- Lindsey McAlpine – $50,000
- Concrete Supply Company – $50,000
- Steelfab, Inc. – $50,000
Other contributors include:
- Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM)
- Ron Curtis
- Medalist Capital
- Myers & Chapman, Inc.
- Cambridge Properties, Inc.
- Amy Clement
- Rip Farris
- Bailey W. Patrick
- Frank Warren
- John Church
- Chet Snow
- Bill Wilson
University officials expect the campaign to conclude in July or August. Donors will be recognized at a victory celebration in the fall as well as in permanent signage at UNC Charlotte and at the university’s planned Center City campus.
In addition to Klein and Mansfield, members of the campaign committee include:
- Bob Bertges, Wachovia
- Amy Clement, Real Estate Strategic Solutions LLC
- Ron Curtis, Bank of America
- Rip Farris, Tuscan Development
- Charles Lindsey McAlpine, The McAlpine Group
- Don Williams, Medalist Capital
The Center for Real Estate at UNC Charlotte was founded in 2005 to develop academic and research programs to support the fast-growing real estate industry in Charlotte. Steven Ott, the John Crosland Sr. distinguished professor of real estate and development in the Belk College of Business, serves as director.
The Center has three areas of focus: curriculum, research and service.
UNC Charlotte offers an academic concentration in real estate at the M.B.A. level as well as a post-graduate certificate program. The M.B.A. real estate concentration currently enrolls 30 students and has graduated more than 60. Funds raised through the campaign will provide resources for a proposed full-time Master of Science in Real Estate degree, which is currently under approval to enroll students in the fall of 2009.
The Center also conducts research on issues related to real estate, addressing topics ranging from tax increment financing to public-private partnerships in school construction to the impact of public transit on development. Additionally, the Center partners with industry and community groups to provide programs and services.
“Historically, much of the information that real estate professionals used to make decisions was strictly anecdotal or based on instinct rather than hard numbers,” Dr. Ott said. “Our goal at the Center for Real Estate is to provide scientific, objective and timely research that will help business and civic leaders make the best decisions for the future of their communities.”
The Center for Real Estate has strong ties to the industry through its advisory board, comprised of 30 top business and community leaders. The board provides input on real estate curriculum, programming and promotion. Developer Lindsey McAlpine serves as board chair.
“The Center for Real Estate is a key component of the university’s vision to develop collaborative programs which can address the major educational, economic, social, and cultural needs of the greater Charlotte region, and which help build the intellectual capital of our state,” said UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip Dubois. “We are grateful for the strong support we have received from the real estate industry throughout the years, and look forward to a successful conclusion to the current campaign.”