Graduates of the real estate program gathered at Cliff Dwellers with fellow students, alums, faculty, staff and friends to celebrate the completion of their degree programs.  The DePaul Real Estate Alumni Alliance co-hosted the event with the Real Estate Center to encourage new alums to utilize their DePaul network in their professional careers. 

Department Chairman and Center Director, Dr. Wurtzebach, congratulated graduates individually and gave each of them a gift from the Center: a top-of-the-line pen to use when they sign their first big deal.

View more event photos here.

 

Three years ago, the Sustaining Sponsors of the Real Estate Center at DePaul University began a tradition of recognizing an outstanding leader in the real estate profession at a spring award's luncheon. This year's recipient, selected by the Center's Executive Committee, was Susanne E. Cannon, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Real Estate and the former Chairman of the Department and Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Director of the Real Estate Center. Dr. Cannon retired from the University this past December after nearly 25 years of service.

 

The Executive Committee selected Dr. Cannon as the honoree in recognition of her immense contributions to the real estate industry as a real estate professional, an educator, a role model and mentor to future leaders in the profession. A dedicated teacher, Dr. Cannon guided the development of academic programs that are unparalleled for graduate and undergraduate students and industry members alike. The impact Dr. Cannon has made on the Chicago real estate community is measured by the number of DePaul real estate alums who make up the marketplace.  DePaul alums can be found across the city and suburbs representing major national firms as well as smaller local enterprises.

 

Doug Crocker, Susanne Cannon & Charlie Wurtzebach

 

 

Dr. Cannon launched the Real Estate Center in 2002 to provide an array of mentoring, job placement, and internship opportunities for students. The Center continues to serves as a critical link between the classroom and the workplace by providing access to leaders in the larger real estate community. This synergy between the theoretical and the practical has made DePaul one of the premier places for Real Estate education in the Midwest.

 

The luncheon program, held on May 15, featured a keynote address on the capital markets update by Bob White, Founder and President of Real Capital Analytics, Inc. Mr. White's presentation focused on the current cycle, globalization, urbanization and technology. Some key points include:

• Commercial real estate price and sales volume have surpassed the 2007 peak, making some investors a little worried, however, others believe the current market is not too frothy
• More buyers in the market today than in 2007, many are complaining "too much capital/too much competition for deals."
• Rising interest rates are probably the biggest risk factor in the current market, but the market should be able to absorb a good bit of that when it occurs without property prices being hurt
• The rise of investors from Asia into the cross-border scene is a significant event, and there is much more to come
• London and NYC have the most cross-border investment and set the benchmark for property prices around the globe
• Urbanization and the changing preferences for Live-Work-Play locations is a rapidly emerging trend
• Huge amounts of capital are being invested in technology start-ups that could transform/disrupt processes and information in our industry

 

Following the keynote address, Doug Crocker, a former Trustee of DePaul University and the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Leadership in the Profession award, presented Dr. Cannon with the recognition piece: a hand blown glass vase by Orient & Flume.

 

View event images, courtesy of DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief, here. 

 

 

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Contributions to the Susanne Ethridge Cannon Endowed Scholarship fund may be made here.