Norm Miller, Ph.D.

Graduating in a tough market is never easy. There is some evidence that those with capital will look back years from now and view this as being a great time of opportunities and wealth-building. But there is other evidence that current graduates will be paying their start-up dues for a while, earning less than their counterparts of a few years ago and forced into entrepreneurial endeavors. To help them succeed on this path, we took our normal integrative and case-based capstone course in the Master of Science in Real Estate program and turned it into more of an entrepreneurial class featuring six outside speakers.

Speakers included Douglas Wilson, who spoke about the Symphony Building and distressed real estate receivership along with quality of service. Lorne Polger discussed capital structure, distressed real estate and risk taking. Rick Roethke talked about multifamily development and life balance. Jeff Burges discussed telcom server property, knowing your product and market timing. Richard Sack discussed cold calling, reverse engineering and raising capital. Pete Garcia discussed the importance of using mentors, being able to tell a story and recognizing that everyone needs to take ownership for a firm's success — regardless of their role.

I attempted to integrate all of the guest speaker content and introduced several relevant readings, including "The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki. I also required each student in the course to create a business plan, which could be implemented either independently or within a company they would like to work for after graduating. A few business plans resulted in students getting job offers from firms that did not actually have open positions, but were so compelled by the innovative and value-added approach the students offered that they could not turn them down. This was our hope: to help the graduates proactively carve out their own path for success in this challenging environment.

A number of the Master of Science in Real Estate students already have secured positions, which they will begin following their graduation July 10. Some — like Woodruff Scholar Brad Flewellen, who will work in San Francisco with the FDIC — were selected from hundreds of applicants. Others, like our Class of 2009 valedictorian, Astrid Cybulskis, will likely start consulting businesses. More than a few also will be working to buy distressed real estate or assisting others in doing the same.

While we generally urge students to follow their passion, this is a time instead to find a way to pay the bills first before taking risks. Hopefully, the patience and discipline these graduates exercise now will allow them freedom in the future to fully follow their passions. We wish all of our graduating students the best of luck and have every confidence that the Class of 2009 will be one we will proudly cherish.

The Burnham-Moores Center held its first-ever Mid-Year Economic Update June 11 at the university's Hahn Center. The event drew over 200 industry professionals, who heard economic forecasts from: Ryan Ratcliff, Ph.D., assistant professor in USD's School of Business Administration; Marney Cox, chief economist at SANDAG; and Kelly Cunningham, economist and senior fellow at the National University System Institute for Policy Research. George Chamberlin, executive editor of The Daily Transcript, served as moderator for the event, which was presented by the San Diego Association of Realtors.

The Center decided to host such an event for the first time this year, given the rapid pace of changes that are taking place in the financial world. The general consensus among the presenters was that, while the economy is showing signs of improvement, it still has a long way to go.

For more information on the event, go here.

The joint meeting included a discussion of industry conditions, prospects and opportunities, which was led by Alex Zikakis, president of Capstone Advisors, Kent Griffin, president and chief financial officer at BioMed Realty Trust, Kurt Huppert, senior vice president at U.S. Bank, John Wickenhiser, senior vice president at Wells Fargo Bank and Marc Makebakken, manager and chief investment officer at Southwest Fund, L.P.

Committee members also were briefed on developments on the real estate academic front and given time to network with their peers from the commercial and residential sectors.

Burnham-Moores Center Executive Committee member Dennis Cruzan and his wife, Janet, hosted the Sixth Annual Daniel B. Woodruff Memorial Scholarship Recipients dinner at their home June 17. Nine of the 16 Woodruff Scholarship recipients attended the dinner including the most recent recipient, Brad Flewellen. Other attendees were: Brett Kondrick, Ron May, Caleb McKinley, Rodd Miller, Ann Mott, Rey Ross, Jacob Schwartz and Jesse Votaw. Previous recipients of the Woodruff Scholarship who were unable to attend include: Philip Bretsch, Alexandra Bryant, Elizabeth DiLorenzo, Svetlana Istrati, Michael Scafuri, Elsa Vasquez and Joshua Wilton.

The scholarship was established by the Center in 2000 in permanent tribute to USD graduate Daniel Woodruff '98 (BA), to honor the most outstanding student pursuing real estate as a career profession. Woodruff died of cancer at the age of 27, less than two years after graduating from USD.

On July 7, Norm Miller, Ph.D., professor and director of academic programs at the Burnham-Moores Center, was one of the featured panelists in a CBRE Webinar that discussed the "Impact of Sustainable Real Estate." Other panelists included: Nils Kok of the University of Maastricht, Netherlands and Gary Pivo of the University of Arizona. The Webinar was moderated by Dave Pogue of CBRE. An estimated 500 of CBRE's clients from across the globe participated in the hour-long Webinar.

Mark Riedy, Ph.D.

Mark J. Riedy, Ph.D., executive director of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, was recently selected for the 2010 edition of "Who's Who in America" due to his outstanding achievements in the real estate and banking industries. Riedy has been listed in "Who's Who in America" since 1982 and "Who's Who in the World" since 2005.

The Burnham-Moores Center's Mid-Year Economic Update, held on June 11, was reported on in The Daily Transcript as well as 10 News.

Norm Miller was interviewed by Kathy Canavan of USA Today on how to save money on closing costs. The article appeared in the June 12 edition of the paper, as well as in an article by the Florida Association of Realtors on the same day.

The San Diego Business Journal published an op-ed piece co-authored by former MSRE student Trevor Jensen and Professor Norm Miller titled, "Five Things Real Estate Investors Must Know." The article appeared in the June 22 issue of the paper.

Alan Gin was quoted in a June 25 article in the San Diego Business Journal on the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County, which he compiles for the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate. A related article appeared on the same day in the San Diego Reader, the North County Times and the Village News of Fallbrook.

Louis Galuppo was interviewed by Roger Showley of the San Diego Union-Tribune for a July 1 article on the trend in San Diego housing prices.

Mark Riedy was interviewed by Mandy Jackson for the Beyond the Business Card profile series; the profile will be featured in an upcoming issue of the California Real Estate Journal.