History

The original CU Real Estate Center was founded in 1989 by passionate alumni, donors and real estate leaders in Colorado. However, the center we know today was established in 1997 when the CU Real Estate Council, the University of Colorado Foundation and the University of Colorado at Boulder signed a Memorandum of Understanding to officially form the formerly named Intermountain CU Real Estate Center.

The original executive committee of the CU Real Estate Council included Gary Antonoff, John Fahrenkrog, Cal Fulenwider, III, John Fuller, Cyrus Hackstaff, III, Andrew Kenney, Walter Koelbel, Carl Luppens, William Moore, Sol Raso, Bill Reynolds and Rod Slifer. The center’s initial mission was to develop a real estate major within the existing graduate MBA program to prepare future leaders of the real estate industry, perform research on cutting edge developments in the field and provide the industry with a conduit to share and collaborate.

The Center, which is now led by the Sherman R. Miller Executive Director, Julie Gibson and Faculty Director Christophe Spaenjers is still guided by its earliest mission. It is the spark behind the CU Real Estate Center Annual Forum. It is the reason we hold meetings of the International Advisory Board and promote academic research on topics of industry interest. And, it is the inspiration that fuels the center to work tirelessly to develop engaging events that educate and inform real estate professionals on contemporary topics.

Today, real estate students at CU Boulder experience rigorous coursework, co-curricular activities, a personalized approach to networking and mentorship and hands-on learning experiences while attending the prestigious Leeds School of Business. Undergraduate and graduate real estate student enrollment continues to grow and placement remains strong thanks to our world-class faculty who bring industry experience in law, finance, architecture and development to the classroom.