Spring 2024 has been transformative for the University of Tulsa real estate programs with the official launch of the Center for Real Estate Studies. It’s been a busy semester but very exciting to lead a growing and dynamic program within the Collins College of Business. I wanted to share with you- TU students, alumni, and friends a few updates from the past few months as well as some things to look forward to in the 2024-2025 school year.
This spring has been our most exciting yet. In January, we began the year with 12 students, accompanied by Professor Cayman Seagraves and Professor Jonathan Cowan, traveling to Miami for the annual Commercial Real Estate Finance Council meeting.
Here’s what a few of our students had to say about the experience:
“Attending conferences like CREFC allows students to engage with and learn from peers and professionals, get inspired and motivated, learn more about the industry, and participate in experiential learning. I believe experiential learning is necessary in the business world and experiences like CREFC allows students to immerse themself in a new environment.”
“Trips like this are what makes me love the business college because it allows students to connect and experience events that we would have never been able to otherwise. “
“This experience allowed me to determine my future career goals in real estate. I have also gained highly valued advice from professionals I met at the conference.”
We launched several new exciting opportunities for students this semester, including nationwide CoStar access for all students enrolled in real estate courses, acceptance of our program as a CCIM Undergraduate Fast-Track school, the opportunity to earn a professional credential (real estate sales, mortgage lending, or securities industry essentials) by enrolled in an elective course through an innovative partnership with Colibri.
Our real estate club had an exciting lineup of speakers this semester. In February, current student Sonia Barrera spoke to the club about her experience so far at McGraw Realtors. TU alumnus Bryan Beyer conducted a CoStar tutorial session in March and got our students excited about learning all the capabilities the platform has to offer. Houston commercial leasing agent Charles McGahren from Aspire Commercial was our guest in April and also judged student leasing proposal presentations in Dr. Seagraves’ Real Estate Finance class. We concluded the semester with an ice cream study break during finals week. We also hosted a few featured guest speakers outside of the regular club meeting times. Jackie Price from Price Family Properties came and discussed office to multifamily conversion projects in progress in downtown Tulsa and Jarod Mendez shared insights on how QuikTrip approaches site selection and new store development.
Students also enjoyed getting out of the classroom. Jarod Jones hosted our group in February for a tour of the Border’s Conversion Project- the conversion of an old Border’s bookstore to a high-end self-storage building with a drive through Starbucks on the same lot. Bruce Bolzle led a small group of our students on a tour of downtown Tulsa, including a peek into the old prohibition-era tunnels. Groups of students also took advance of opportunities to learn and network with professionals around Tulsa, including at the March’s GTAR’s Commercial Real Estate Update, April’s CCIM Oklahoma Luncheon and NAIOP Women’s luncheon, and more! I am so grateful for the generosity of our local real estate community in including our students in their events and meaningfully engaging with them when they show up. I love hearing from our students about how events like these help shape their ambitions and goals- perhaps opening their mind to a career path they had never before considered.
I also have to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make our 3rd annual Career Networking Event on March 27th a big success. Between the students and professionals, we had over 120 people in attendance. It’s been fun to hear about all the connections and conversations that have started and are continuing. Our students are really grateful for the local professional community’s engagement in events like this- they are already excited about next year. I’m already looking to book the ballroom next door to the faculty club for next year so that we’ll have room to grow!
We also recognized 6 students graduating this spring with a real estate minor: Jackson McKinney, Antonio Pastrana, Cat Thomason, Ileana Braddock, Alex Fernandez, and Jacquay Shavers and 1 who graduated last December, Anahi Serna. (Anahi was also a recipient of a RENEW- Real Estate Network Empowering Women- scholarship.)
This spring also hosted our first research guest speaker, Dr. Timothy Dombrowski, who spoke about the feasibility putting mortgage backed securities on the blockchain. Keep posted for announcements of future research guest speakers for next year; these lectures will be open to the public and will focus on one of the center’s research priorities.
Speaking of research, a group of six of our brightest TU students will be working on a TURC (Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge) project this summer on housing development in the greater Tulsa area. They will do a public presentation of their findings at the TURC research showcase in August, keep your eyes on the TURC site for details about that presentation as it becomes available.
It’s my goal to keep TU students, faculty, alumni, and friends up to date about everything going on in our growing real estate program. Please check out our upcoming events and keep up with the latest news on our LinkedIn page. As our team is already starting to plan a great lineup of events for next year, if you’d like to get involved- please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Have a great summer!
Meagan McCollum
