Bridging the Gap
REIAC & GSU's Real Estate Alumni Group Will Co-Present Events

Atlanta, GA – August 27, 2009 – It was announced today that the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (REIAC) will partner with Georgia State University’s Real Estate Alumni Group to present several key events for both organizations.  REIAC is a nonprofit association for senior executives who, as principals, develop, acquire, manage or finance commercial investment real estate.  The Real Estate Alumni Group is a non-profit organization that raises money for the Real Estate Department of Georgia State University. 

What will this relationship mean for the two organizations?

REIAC Southeast’s Founder & President, Jerry Monash commented, “Our relationship with GSU dates back to the 1990’s when REIAC started funding graduate level scholarships to GSU’s Real Estate Department at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.  For us, aligning with the Real Estate Alumni Group is the next logical step in our support of GSU.  It 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. In fact, it is this type of alliance that motivates and enlivens the membership and directors of REIAC.”

Georgia State University’s Real Estate Department Chair, Dr. Julian Diaz, stated, “We are very excited about the new partnership between the Real Estate Alumni Group and REIAC. Through this emerging alliance, we can reach beyond our alumni to raise awareness of the extraordinary value that our real estate program has to offer the greater community.  Many of the top level executives in Atlanta’s commercial real estate industry have ties to the Real Estate program at Georgia State, and a significant number of those folks are also members of REIAC”.

President of GSU’s Real Estate Alumni Group, Sara H. Smith commented, “It makes sense that REIAC and our Real Estate Alumni Group should align themselves. We’ve both spent a lot of time raising awareness of the outstanding Real Estate Department at Georgia State University, and the partnership creates a critical mass that can provide an even greater value to both of our memberships, while continuing to elevate the perception of Georgia State’s Real Estate Program.

What types of activities should members of both organizations see as a result of this partnership?

REIAC will  co-present the Real Estate Alumni Group’s two signature events: Views from the Green (the Alumni Group’s annual golf tournament), and Views from the Top, a well-known and highly attended program for the commercial real estate industry.  The 23rd Views from the Top event will be held in early January. The program includes an economic forecast presented by Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, Georgia State University’s Director of Economic Forecasting, followed by a panel discussion led by industry leaders.    The 4th Views from the Green golf tournament will be held on Tuesday, November 3rd at The River Club, an exclusive golf community located in Suwanee, Georgia, and ranked among the top 10 golf courses in the Southeast. 

For the Real Estate Alumni Group, this alliance provides access to the REIAC/GSU Hall of Distinction program, REIAC’s Fourth Quarter Conference.  This annual program features REIAC’s highest honor, which recognizes a local individual’s career achievements in the commercial real estate industry and contributions to the metropolitan Atlanta market. In addition, Alumni Group members may attend REIAC’s Distinguished Lecture Series, which are bi-annual lectures and networking events held at Georgia State featuring senior level real estate leaders.  Last, but not least, Alumni may attend The REIAC Challenge – an annual GSU real estate graduate student case competition, judged by a panel of real estate industry professionals, which offers scholarship funding to members of the winning student team.

What role have these associations played in the community?

As part of its public service initiative, REIAC has provided scholarships to several institutions of higher learning.  In 2004, a formal on-going funding arrangement was developed with the Department of Real Estate at Georgia State University.  Giving to the community is not new for REIAC, which, since its inception, has raised over $1 million nationally, for various charities.  These include Children’s Healthcare Network of Atlanta, Habitat for Humanity, The National Veteran’s Foundation and organizations serving underprivileged children and the homeless.

REIAC is a national nonprofit trade association formed in 1991 with a strong focus on the transactional side of the business.  Each of the six regional chapters is managed by all volunteer boards of directors.  Members are investment principals and senior executives acting as principals – a ‘Who’s Who of Commercial Real Estate,’ representing most of the country’s major owners, REITs, developers, pension funds and their advisors, life insurance companies, banks and large individual investors. REIAC’s high-level quarterly conferences are designed to educate, communicate and candidly share insights and experiences.  The first through third quarter meetings are open only to members and invited guests. The Southeast regional chapter has an active membership of approximately 200.  Membership is granted by invitation only based upon proprietary guidelines.

GSU’s Real Estate Department is the largest independent real estate program in the United States and offers a range of degree options including a BBA real estate major, a graduate certificate in real estate, an MBA concentration in real estate, an MS in real estate and a Ph.D. major in real estate. U.S. News & World Report currently ranks GSU’s undergraduate programs in the Top 10 among all colleges in the nation.

The Real Estate Alumni Group has an active membership of approximately 300.  Since the group was founded, it has contributed more than $500,000 to Georgia State University’s Real Estate Department in the form of annual gifts.  These annual gifts include two professorship endowment funds, and support for educational programs, research projects, professional associations and technological advances in the Department. Other key benefits of the Alumni Group are its quarterly networking events which provide opportunities for alumni and other active members of the real estate community to network while touring new real estate projects around Atlanta.