Newsletter of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University
noon
2nd floor, Langford Atrium
Light Lunch: Introductions and Networking
Forster Ndubisi, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning will welcome conference participants.
1:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Wright Gallery
2nd floor, Langford A Building
Conference and Workshop Sessions
Overview: the Real Estate Market and its Future
And overview of the real estate market and its future presented by Cydney Donnell, executive professor of finance and director of the Master of Real Estate program at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.
Donnell formerly served as principal and managing director of European Investors/E.I.I. Realty Securities, Inc. where she also served as chair of the Investment Committee, head of the Real Estate Securities Group, portfolio manager and vice-president and analyst. From 1992 – 2005, Donnell served on the Board of European Investors Holding Company. Prior to joining EII, she was a real estate lending officer at RepublicBanc Corporation in Dallas. Donnell currently serves on the board of directors of Madison Harbor Balanced Strategies Inc., a closed-end investment fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. In 2007, Governor Rick Perry appointed her to the Employees Retirement System of Texas Board of Trustees, where she serves on its audit committee. She has also served on the board and Institutional Advisory Committee of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT.
MSLD Report Briefing
Conference participants will be briefed on an external review of the Master of Science in Land Development program at Texas A&M University. The review was conducted last fall by Michael Anikeeff, professor and chair of the Edward St. John Department of Real Estate at Johns Hopkins University, and Margaret McFarland, director of the Master of Real Estate Development program and Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development at the University of Maryland.
In a briefing delivered last December to Texas A&M officials, Anikeeff wrote: “Given the depth and breadth of real estate research and expertise and the strength and size of the multi-disciplinary faculty at Texas A&M University you have potentially the strongest university based real estate offer in the world with the possible exception of the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.”
At the same briefing, McFarland noted the program’s potential to draw upon and advance the rich multidisciplinary skills and expertise resident within the College—all of which contributed to, or touched upon, in one form or another, real estate development.
Briefing on Texas A&M College of Architecture
faculty research relevant to real estate industry
Ceclia Giusti, assistant professor of urban planning at Texas A&M University, will brief conference goers on current faculty research projects at the College of Architecture that are relevant to the real estate industry. Her presentation topics include sustainable development, economic development, and housing and urban development.
Briefing on plans for adjusting MSLD curriculum
to apply to various graduate certificate programs
Conference attendees will be briefed on the effort to adjust the Master of Science in Land Development curriculum to contribute to some of the five graduate certificate programs offered through the research centers at the Texas A&M College of Architecture. The five graduate certificate programs currently offered through the college include: Health Systems and Design, Historic Preservation, Sustainable Urbanism, Facility Management, Environmental Hazard Management and Transportation Planning.
In this session, Forster Ndubisi, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M, and Jesse Saginor, assistant professor of urban planning, will explain how adjusting the credit point weightings and structure of the MSLD courses will allow them to contribute to the course study required for graduate certificates.
Engaging the MSLD program
Tim Crawford ’96, chair of the MSLD program’s Development Industry Advisory Committee, will lead a session exploring how graduates, former students and friends of the Aggie MSLD program are getting involved with students. Joining Crawford will be a panel of former students who’ve been involved in the program in various capacities: Andrew Bloeut ’04 (development tours and employment initiatives); Jonathan Brinsden ’91 (mentoring programs and Urban Land Institute involvement); and Adrienne Schwartz ’99 (adjunct lectures).
Workshop: Shaping the MSLD program
Kent Anderson, executive associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, will review the core knowledge and core competencies required of MSLD graduates and discuss how these core elements are being refined to meet the future and current needs of the land development industry.
Workshop participants will be asked to draw on their own expertise and industry insight to actively engage this discussion, providing advise and guidance on how the program can better prepare its graduates for success in the profession.
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Preston Geren Auditorium
Langford B Building
Seat of Heat:
Creating Real Estate Value in the Brave New World
Moderated by Jorge Vanegas, dean of the Texas A&M College of Architecture, five accomplished graduates of the MSLD program discuss a topic fundamental to the future of the real estate industry.
7:30 - 9 p.m.
Langford A Atrium
MSLD Banquet
Steal back to a time when life was less complicated and enjoy a relaxed buffet dinner of Texas barbecue and peach cobbler with friends, colleagues, Aggie faculty, staff and students.
- Posted: Feb. 15, 2010 -
