The Southwest Chapter of REIAC, an organization of real estate executives involved in developing, acquiring and/or financing real estate, has formed a partnership with Arizona State University’s Masters of Real Estate Development (MRED) program at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
REIAC has provided $5,000 in scholarships for the 2013-14 academic year and recently awarded two MRED students with $2,500 awards. Requirements of the scholarship program include being a full-time student, an Arizona resident and preferably, having the desire to work locally upon graduation.
“Aligning with the MRED program is a way to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and professional standards, strengthen the investment management arena and ultimately better the commercial real estate community as a whole,” said Todd Jarman, board president of REIAC Southwest and senior vice president, BBVA Compass.
In addition to the scholarship program, REIAC is hosting the REIAC/Rockefeller Group Challenge in the spring, a MRED student case study competition sponsored by The Rockefeller Group. The competition will be judged by REIAC members and MRED faculty, for a cash prize of up to $6,000 to the winning student team.
REIAC is looking for MRED teams to demonstrate their strategy for a local development project that includes acquisition, financing, entitlements and design.
“Our students will be demonstrating their ability to apply mastery of a real estate investment and development opportunity and determining the feasibility of development, from analyzing existing buildings to working with local agencies, dealing with market realities, design, construction, finance and legal issues,” said Mark Stapp, executive director of MRED.
“The REIAC/Rockefeller Group Challenge provides students an experience that teaches them how to apply the theory of real estate in a practical way only available because of local industry support that comes from this Challenge,” Stapp said.
“Many of Phoenix’s real estate executives have ties to ASU and a significant number are also members of REIAC. The alliance allows for the students to have access to local real estate leaders and we’re looking forward to seeing the teams showcase their talents in the annual REIAC/Rockefeller Group Challenge,” said Mark Singerman, REIAC board member and regional director-Arizona for The Rockefeller Group.
The Rockefeller Group has a longstanding history of supporting education. The W.P. Carey Evening MBA program will be located at The Rockefeller Group’s Chandler 101, an 844,000 SF mid-rise office development in Chandler’s Price Corridor.
