It’s been 10 years since Rutgers University launched its Center for Real Estate, and in that time, more than 3,500 students have walked into a classroom thinking “real estate” meant selling houses only to find out it’s a whole different world.
Development, financing, law, design — this program has opened doors that students didn’t even know existed.
Rutgers
From selling houses to shaping skylines
Ron Ladell, a founding member and now chair of the center’s executive committee, laughs when he remembers those first conversations.
“They think you’re selling homes,” he said. Instead, the center has given students hands-on access to New Jersey’s top developers, bankers, and service providers.
A decade of growth at Rutgers Center for Real Estate
Since 2015, the numbers speak for themselves: eight courses now offered across Rutgers’ Newark and New Brunswick campuses, nearly 330 alumni who’ve earned the concentration in real estate, and $2.3 million in scholarships awarded to more than 370 students.
The center has also hosted eight conferences, produced close to 100 white papers and blogs, and built a deep bench of corporate sponsors who help fund programs—and hire students.
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Rutgers
Preparing New Jersey’s next generation of leaders
Industry leaders like AvalonBay’s Ladell and Canoe Brook Development’s Carl Goldberg say the mission has always been the same:
Prepare the next generation of commercial real estate pros while giving back to the community. The center started with a $3 million gift in 2013, and now it’s looking ahead to bigger goals: a full alumni network, expanded corporate sponsorships, and eventually, a real estate major at Rutgers.
As Ladell puts it: “Everyone involved is doing it to give back to the next generation of real estate executives and leaders. People know who we are now.”
New Jersey high school graduation rates
The lists below show 4-year graduation rates for New Jersey public schools for the 2020-21 school year. The statewide graduation rate fell slightly, from 91% in 2019-20 to 90.6%.
The lists, which are sorted by county and include a separate list for charter schools, also include a second graduation rate, which excludes students whose special education IEPs allow them to qualify for diplomas despite not meeting typical coursework and attendance requirements.
Columns with an asterisk or ‘N’ indicate there was no data or it was suppressed to protect student privacy.
Gallery Credit: Michael Symons
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