Introduction

The UConn Real Estate Society had a successful year in 2007/2008 with numerous functions held in conjunction with industry and student networking. The students had the opportunity to attend luncheons, dinners, case presentations, alumni events and conferences with accomplished professionals. The MBA real estate students met every other week for breakfasts networking events during the fall and spring semesters. A more detailed description of the activities is discussed below. In all, the society is proud of the work that it has done this year, and believes that is has provided its members a unique opportunity to interact with and learn from successful real estate professionals.

We need to recognize all of the industry professionals who took time out of their schedule for the Society. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. We would also like to give special thanks to the Center for Real Estate & Urban Economic Studies and our alumni for making many of these activities financially possible.

Fieldtrips

There were four field trips where students met with UConn graduates and friends working in the real estate industry’s most prestigious firms. On September 19, 2007, students took a field trip to New York City, which included stops at Broadway Partners, Calyon Corporate Investment Bank, Carnegie Corporation, GE Real Estate, International Council of Shopping Centers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Societe Generale. On February 8, 2008, students had the opportunity to visit Konover Development Corporation in Farmington and listen to a development case study presented by Konover professionals. On March 7, 2008, MBA students visited with TA Associates Realty in Boston, MA and worked through an interesting case study of a building TA Associates recently purchased in Newton, MA. On Friday November 2, 2007, 10 MBA students visited GE Real Estate’s headquarters in Norwalk, CT. Joe Parsons, Jayne Day, Greg Bates Anuj Gupta, and Aaron Harris discussed various components of GE Real Estate, their place in the capital markets and its commitment to making their products “green.” Each trip provided students with the opportunity to learn more about the business, network with alumni in the field, and get to know other society members.

Campus Activities

The Real Estate Society met a couple times throughout the semester to share information on opportunities and experiences. They also met a couple times at a restaurant off campus to socialize and network with one another.

Several individuals and professional organizations came to campus for our Professionals in the Classroom series and deserve special acknowledgment:

• Derrick Roma and Kathy Rupar of O.R. Colan Associates,
• Donald Reilly (Class of ’88),
• Chris Battistini of CBRE Realty Finance,
• Bob Kantor of Fannie Mae, and
• Mike Riccio of CBRE| Melody.

Visiting professionals spoke about their companies, career paths, and their company’s role in the industry.

On March 18th, 2008 the Real Estate Society held an Alumni Panel Discussion where five recent graduates spoke to undergraduate students interested in the field of real estate. They gave advice on the job searching and interviewing processes as well as general career advice and experiences to take advantage of while at UConn. These professionals were Julie Ryker of CBRE Capital Markets, Krzysztof Kowalski of The Hartford Investment Management Company, Scott Burns and Steve Guyette of Italia & Lemp, and Tyler Thorson of Talcott Realty Advisors.

Placement

The online resume book facilitated communication between students and employers. The book is available to companies and is a unique opportunity that the Real Estate Center offers to allow employers to seek students out for interviews.

This semester the UConn Real Estate Society has assisted in placing members in jobs and/or internships for companies such as Anglo Irish Bank, Avalon Bay, Bank of America, Boston Capital, Calyon Investment Bank, Carnegie Foundation, CBRE| Melody, CB Richard Ellis, Colliers Spectrum Cauble, Department of Consumer Protection, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investment, Five Mile Capital, GE Commerical Finance, GE Corporation, GE Finance, Hanover, Hart Corporation, Hartford Investment Management Company, H. Pearce Company, IBM, Italia & Lemp, Johnson Controls, Keefe Bruyette and Woods, Liberty Mutual, Lockheed Martin Transportation, MMA Financial, Northmarq Capital, People’s Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Sakon Development, Simon Property Group, Simon Real Estate, Societe Generale, Talcott Realty Investors, The Hartford, and UBS.

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