Our Runstad Department of Real Estate student team has won the 2024 NAIOP Real Estate Challenge!
Category: Newsletter
Remembering Matt Disston
“He was always easy going and willing to help you out no matter what you needed. He was more interested in seeing students succeed than anything else. Also, he loved to show off his guitars to the class and was always finding ways to connect with us.”
2023 Runstad Leadership Dinner
The 10th Annual Runstad Leadership Dinner was a record breaking event! There were over 800 people in the room showing their support of our department, programs, and students.
2023-24 Ferguson Fellow Audrey Ochsner
The program has helped me to meet people in the industry from all over the country, including fellow students, as well as professionals that can offer us guidance as we prepare to graduate and enter the workforce.
WCRER Expands
The Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER), based in the Runstad Department of Real Estate, has ambitious plans to expand its data collection and research activities in the coming years.
Monica Wallace: Board Member Profile
Take advantage of all of the great opportunities that these programs provide: mentorship, networking, access to industry leaders who are always happy to hop on a call or meet for coffee.
Remembering Jon Runstad: A Philanthropist and Real Estate Visionary
The Runstad Department of Real Estate is deeply saddened by the loss of Jon Runstad ’64, a prominent figure in the real estate industry and a dedicated philanthropist.
Runstad Leadership Dinner Provides Record Support for Undergraduate Scholarships
The overwhelmingly successful paddle raise at last year’s Runstad Leadership Dinner has enabled the Runstad Department of Real Estate to significantly expand scholarship support to undergraduate majors in real estate. Hear what this support means to the scholarship recipients.
Runstad Department Experiences Growth and Change
The 2022-2023 academic year was a busy one for the Runstad Department of Real Estate.
Empowering Change: Runstad’s Commitment to Diversity in Real Estate
The Runstad Advisory Board has developed several committees focused on supporting the Runstad Department of Real Estate’s students, faculty and programs. One of these committees, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, is dedicated to helping create a future where equity is embraced so that the real estate industry and built environment reflect the rich diversity of people in the community.
This past academic year, the department and board members participated in some great events to help push the goal of moving the industry toward inclusion and equity. In February 2023, the Runstad Department of Real Estate and Foster School of Business held their annual symposium, “Hacking Inequity in Access to Real Estate Capital: Best Practices and New Options”. This year the event was also co-sponsored by Urban@UW and Urban Land Institute. After the keynote’s address, attendees heard from two panels: one focused on the experiences of developers seeking capital, and the other on the experiences and advice of capital providers. This year’s symposium was a follow up to the panel discussion on EDI in real estate capital investments that was held at the Autumn 2021 Runstad Advisory Board Meeting.
Board member Brian Surratt, was a leading force in the Housing Equity Accelerator program (HEA) this past year. Local Initiatives Support Corporation (“LISC”) partnered with Amazon to increase the supply of affordable housing and support the growth of emerging developers of color in Puget Sound. This work can help build capacity to create more affordable units and forge opportunities to generate equity and inter-generational wealth. Many Runstad Advisory board members and Master of Science in Real Estate alumni volunteered their time and service. Jaebadiah Gardner (a fellow of the program), Peter Orser, Andrew Hunt, McKenzie Darr and Kristin Ryan served as Business Advisors, program advisors and expert panelists. Diane Sugimura served as program facilitator for the year long program with 13 graduates.
Lastly, we want to thank George Northcroft for working with ULI to shape the February event, “10 Principles for Embedding Racial Equity in Real Estate Development,” and sharing the opportunity for our students to attend. ULI’s Building Healthy Places Initiative published “10 Principles…” as a guide for developers, investors, and other practitioners in making racial equity an important part of their real estate practice. Taidgh H. McClory, one of the contributors to the report, presented the 10 principles, following George’s impassioned history of racial issues in the real estate industry. George also moderated a “fireside chat” with Taidgh and Jaebadiah, before attendees broke into small groups to discuss the principles and their commitments to initiate change in their work.
We are thankful and excited about the work that was accomplished this year by the EDI Committee, and sincerely thank the committee for their service. We look forward to more progress happening in the years to come.