10 years later, Rutgers real estate program proves skeptics wrong

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.

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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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.”