In this story, published February 16, 2021, in Bisnow, Collete English Dixon, executive director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, weighed in on the increase she’s seen in interest among banks, wealth management and private equity firms involved in commercial real estate in recruiting Black graduates and students.
Bisnow reported, “Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation are experiencing a surge in interest this year as much of the business world, including the commercial real estate industry, has vowed to do more to promote inclusion.”
While MBIRE is not an Historically Black College and University, when a CRE firm makes a hire from the school, it is often a person of color due to the student body demographics – and it is someone ready to hit the ground running in CRE.
MBIRE offers one of the country’s most diverse graduate real estate program with the school’s Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) program often drawing at least 50% Black students and people of color.
The Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate (MBIRE) announces several significant scholarship funds and internship initiatives for its students. The announcements were made during the 18th annual Real Estate Gala on Nov. 7 held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago.
Acknowledging the importance of internships for the development of student professional experience and supporting pathways to entry-level job opportunities, the Institute announced that it will guarantee a summer internship for all rising senior real estate majors at the university with a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average. This program also will work with rising juniors declared as real estate majors to identify internship opportunities.
The scholarship funds include the new Louis and Ruth Kahnweiler Scholarship Fund established with a $1 million donation. This scholarship is targeted to provide financial support for students in the Institute’s undergraduate real estate major in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree program. The grant will provide up to $20,000 for juniors and seniors with a 3.0 or above grade point average.
Also announced were the expansion of scholarship funds from three existing programs: The
Duke DREAM Fund, McCaffery Interests Inc, Fund and the Northern Builders Future Leaders in Industrial Real Estate Fund have been expanded to provide scholarships for undergraduate real estate majors, starting in their junior year at Roosevelt. These funds will also require a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Also announced at the gala was a $500,000 grant from The Bennett Family Foundation in honor of the late Marshall Bennett, co-founder of the Institution in recognition of his love and dedication to the Institute.
“We are grateful for the generosity, support and engagement of these leading companies and their leadership,” says Collete English Dixon, executive director, MBIRE. “We are excited about the opportunities which enable our students to obtain a top education in real estate and garner real world experience that will give them distinct advantages as they advance their careers in the industry.”
The gala is one of the premier real estate networking events of the year in Chicago with more than 400 top industry leaders in attendance. All proceeds benefit the student and industry education programs of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate in the Heller College of Business at Roosevelt University.
In addition to the internship program scholarship fund announcements, Gerald W. Fogelson, CEO of the Fogelson Group of Companies, chairman of Central Station Development Corp. and co-founder of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate was presented with the Visionary Award.
Since its founding in 2002, the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate has grown to become one of the most diverse graduate real estate programs in the country. The Institute oversees academic programming to support 3 degree programs: a Master of Science in Real Estate, a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Real Estate and an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Real Estate. Beginning this fall it has expanded its academic offerings to include a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development, the first of its kind to be offered in the Midwest and will launch its Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Investment as of Spring 2020. For more information, please visit www.roosevelt.edu/real-estate.
Pictures from the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate Gala held on Nov. 7.
Caption for photo below:
Patrick FitzGerald with MBIRE Executive Director Collete English Dixon and Doug Fogelson who accepted the Visionary Award on behalf of his father Gerald Fogelson.
Jennifer Wolfe Photography Inc., 2019,
Caption for photo below, from left:
Students David Lambiaso, Andrew Savey, Dion Hickles and Adam Brendamorr
Jennifer Wolfe Photography Inc., 2019
Caption for photo below, from left:
Patricia Harris with Roosevelt President and Ali Malekzedah ad Marion Berry.
The program offers academic and practical knowledge for achieving success in the property development sector of the real estate industry. The courses provide fundamental real estate knowledge, specific real estate development process knowledge and project efforts that are applicable to many careers within the industry.
“The certificate program is ideal for students who have experience in commercial real estate, however, students with residential real estate experience will also benefit from the concepts, application, and analysis provided in the courses,” said Collete English Dixon, executive director of Roosevelt’s Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate. “It also provides the flexibility for those who complete the program to apply earned credits toward a graduate degree at a later date.”
For more information on the certificate program, contact Collete English Dixon at cenglishdixon@Roosevelt.edu or (312) 341-3767.
The Institute also offers an undergraduate major in real estate toward a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and two graduate degree programs, the Master of Science in Real Estate and the Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate. These degree programs offer specialized classes and an inter-disciplinary approach combining urban economics with “hands-on” real estate learning.
Since its founding in 2002, the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate has grown to become one of the most diverse graduate real estate programs in the country and has more than 300 graduates, many of whom work at Chicago firms. For more information, please visit www.roosevelt.edu/realestate.
Important information about the educational debt, earnings, and completion rates of students who attended this program can be found here.
We are pleased to announce the Appraisal Institute is accepting our MBIRE MSRE curriculum as meeting requirements for its professional education coursework. A Certified General Appraiser (the highest state certification level) from any state, can attend certain REES courses and/or graduate from the MSRE program and would only need two additional courses for MAI exam eligibility. Those two, one-week courses are “Appraisal Writing” and “Advanced Concepts and Case Studies.”
On April 5, real estate industry leaders and students gathered for the Spring 2018 Gerald Fogelson Forum on Real Estate at the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, (MBIRE), Roosevelt University. Community Investment Corporation (CIC) President Jack Markowski led a panel presentation with colleagues Andre Collins and Anthony Oliver about the future of affordable housing in Chicago.
Dr. Thomas W. Hamilton, MAI, CCIM, CRE, FRICS, Gerald Fogelson Distinguished Chair in Real Estate, Ph.D., an expert in generally accepted appraisal practices, testified pertaining to the concept of inextricably intertwined real property. He described the terminal business as a liquid storage warehouse and the income generated the equivalent of rent. He explained that, for example, the terminals are no different than a dry goods storage facility located on California’s shores—those storage facilities receive goods coming into the country and the shoreline location is critical to that business.
Beyond The Bio: Bisnow’s 16 Questions With Real Estate Vet Collete English Dixon
“Collete English Dixon spends her days grooming the next generation of industry leaders as the executive director of Roosevelt University’s Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, and as real estate chair of the school’s Heller College of Business.”
