Keston Family Chair, Global Real Estate Sol Price School of Public Policy and Marshall School of Business November 2013
Introduction The University of Southern California (USC) invites nominations and applications for the Keston Family Chair in Global Real Estate. USC seeks an internationally renowned scholar in real estate who will spearhead commercial real estate research at USC and who will have a faculty appointment in the Marshall School of Business and the Sol Price School of Public Policy. Creating and building a commercial real estate program is an especially attractive aspect of the Chair s position; such a program would complement the already strong Lusk Center real estate programs in housing and public economics, the Dollinger Master of Real Estate Development program, and the undergraduate real estate programs within the Price and Marshall Schools. To this end the Keston Family Chair will lead recruitment of additional faculty members to build the commercial real estate program at USC. The Keston Family Chair will be a distinguished scholar and researcher, and serve as the intellectual leader for commercial real estate across the university. Substantive research areas may include commercial real estate development, commercial real estate finance, or commercial real estate market analysis. Areas of research focus should include the sale, development, and management of office, industrial, and retail real estate. Applicants should hold a doctoral degree and have excellent research and teaching records. The ideal candidate will have experience in industry outreach and relations. University of Southern California USC is the oldest private research university in the western United States, established in 1880. Located in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, technology and international trade, USC is one of the world s leading private research universities. USC is home to 18 professional schools including the Marshall School of Business and the Sol Price School of Public Policy. USC s other leading schools include the Keck School of Medicine, the Viterbi School of Engineering, the School of Cinematic Arts, and the Annenberg School for Communication as well as the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. USC's University Park campus, located in the heart of Los Angeles' Downtown Arts and Education Corridor, is home to the College and many of the professional schools. The Health Sciences Campus, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, is home to the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the School of Pharmacy, three major teaching hospitals, and programs in Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. USC currently enrolls approximately 40,000 students and employs 5,395 faculty members and 12,154 staff. It is the largest private employer in Los Angeles. The University s faculty includes 32 members of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine and 36 members of the National Academy of Engineering. There are more than 343,000 living alumni in the USC Trojan Family. 2
The University s current operating budget is approximately $3.2 billion and the endowment is valued at approximately $3.5 billion. USC's 11th president C. L. Max Nikias was inaugurated in late 2010. Nikias is an engineer whose 22 years at USC have been characterized by vision and a talent for seeing and seizing opportunities as he rose in the leader ranks. President Nikias vision is to propel USC toward undisputed recognition as one of the most productive and influential research universities in the world. To support this goal, Nikias launched an ambitious $6 billion campaign in 2011 to grow the University s endowment for faculty, research programs, and student scholarships, and provide immediate support for academic priorities and capital projects. To date over $3 billion has been committed to USC through the campaign. Lusk Center for Real Estate The USC Lusk Center for Real Estate advances real estate knowledge, informs business practice, and addresses timely issues that affect the real estate industry, the urban economy, and public policy. It conducts basic and applied real estate research, supports educational programs for students and executives, and serves as a link between the academic and practitioner real estate communities. The Lusk Center is widely recognized as one of the largest and most prominent academic real estate centers in the United States. Established in the early 1980s with an endowment gift from the Lusk family, the Lusk Center serves as the focal point for real estate research and outreach at USC. The Lusk endowment supports research and graduate fellowships, as well as an extensive industry outreach program. The Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast, the Ross Minority Program in Real Estate, and an endowed distinguished lecture series are major programs of the Lusk Center. The Lusk Center Board of Directors includes industry leaders from throughout North America. The board, members, and affiliates of the Lusk Center provide funding support for the Center and access to the professional practitioner community. Sol Price School of Public Policy The Sol Price School of Public Policy is ranked 6th among schools of policy and public affairs in the country by U.S. News & World Report. It is unique in having integrated within one school the strategic intellectual and problem solving resources needed to address the most pressing contemporary societal issues. Price offers professional masters degree programs in public management, public policy, real estate development, urban planning, and health administration. The School also offers two doctoral degrees, an undergraduate degree, and executive training programs. Student enrollment exceeds 1,500. The real estate programs are among the most popular degrees in Price. 3
Price has more than 50 full-time faculty members, an annual budget of $80 million, and an endowment of about $150 million. It provides an exceptionally rich research environment, with $35 million in active funded research. Much of the research activity takes place under the auspices of its nationally and internationally known eleven research centers and groups, including the Lusk Center. Marshall School of Business The Marshall School of Business is one of the nation s premier business schools, offering a complete array of business-education programs to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students as well as to executives in business and not-for-profit organizations. Among the more than 5,000 students enrolled at USC Marshall are more than 1,500 students in full-time, parttime and executive MBA programs in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego County, and Shanghai. USC Marshall s many highly ranked programs include those in accounting, entrepreneurial studies, international business, finance and business economics and marketing. The Marshall undergraduate program is ranked among the nation s ten best, and the Leventhal School of Accounting and the Entrepreneurship program are both ranked in the top 5 by U.S. News & World Report. USC Marshall has more than 220 full-time faculty members, an annual budget of over $200 million, and an endowment of nearly $200 million. USC Marshall is known worldwide for leading-edge research in a wide array of business topics, and for a learner-centered approach to education. The Position and The Opportunities As the Keston Family Chair this individual will serve as the intellectual leader for commercial real estate at USC, with dual charges of continuing his/her own scholarship as well as building the commercial real estate program around topics including commercial real estate development, commercial real estate finance, or commercial real estate market analysis. In addition to joint appointment in the Price and Marshall Schools, the Chair will have an affiliation with the Lusk Center. He/She will also work within the Master of Real Estate Development program. He/She will be a key liaison with the Lusk Center advisory councils and committees and incorporate their perspectives into research and teaching, as well as developing a robust philanthropy program. The Keston Family Chair will cultivate relationships with industry leaders in pursuit of developing research programs that illuminate industry trends that have both practical and theoretical applications. 4
Qualifications The Keston Family Chair will possess an earned doctorate in a relevant discipline and have established him/herself as a recognized academic leader in commercial real estate. He/She will have the ability to develop and lead a commercial real estate program as well as recruit and develop faculty and staff who can fulfill the vision of this program. The successful candidate will have many of the following capabilities and attributes: Strong communication skills, effective with both internal and external constituencies; Ability to manage a research budget and participate in philanthropic efforts; Nuanced judgment and personal maturity; Strong ethics and high integrity; Warm, open, and inclusive approach to working with colleagues; and Goal and outcome oriented. To Apply Please submit applications, nominations, and expressions of interest to: Nicholas Brill Brill Neumann Associates USCKeston@brillneumann.com Please visit the USC website www.usc.edu for additional information about the University. USC strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. Women and men, members of all racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. 5