About the Center

The Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center was named in recognition of its permanent endowment by Samuel Zell in 1998. The Center was established in 1983 by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to promote excellence in real estate education and research. The Center brings academia and the leaders of industry together to create a unique resource for students, faculty, and members.

Our Mission

The Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania provides thought leadership to the real estate community through support of cutting-edge research for current and future business leaders and policy makers, the facilitation of a partnership between industry professionals and our faculty and students, and the training of the future leadership of the real estate industry.

The Center’s thought leadership includes innovative inquiries, excellence in education, a strong commitment to making research accessible, and provision of a forum for the real estate community to discuss critical issues.

Research

The Zell/Lurie Center promotes and funds scholarly research on topics of interest to our industry.

• Research conducted by the Real Estate Department’s standing and affiliated faculty is augmented by post-doctoral researchers and/or research specialists.
• Findings have been published in leading academic real estate journals, The Wharton Real Estate Review and in the Center’s Working Paper Series.

Education & Scholarship

• The Zell/Lurie Center works with the Wharton Real Estate Department faculty to foster excellence in real estate education.
• The Center helps develop curriculum for the Real Estate Department, consistently ranked best in the country by US News & World Report.
• Committed to excellence in education, the Center awards fellowships and scholarships to promising real estate students. Many of these are funded by our members.
• Every Year the Center funds and hosts a two-day virtual Argus training. This program covered the standard 16-hour Argus introductory curriculum.
• Through the Helfand/Bluhm Career Support Fellowship Program, the Center distributes individual grants to students to help defray the cost of qualified expenses for real estate career search activities.

Meetings & Lecture Series

• Our Members’ Meetings provide unequaled networking opportunities and an extraordinary forum for students, faculty and prominent real estate executives to discuss relevant industry concerns. The Fall Members’ Meeting Endowed by the Ina and Lewis Heafitz Fund for the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center is for members only their guests. Non-members may attend the Spring Members’ Meeting for a fee.
• The Eric and Beth Schlager Lecture Series was established in 2006 in order to enable the Center to bring in outstanding real estate entrepreneurs to deliver lectures to the Wharton community about their unique experiences. The Lecture Series provides our community with an invaluable opportunity to hear from and interact with these notable entrepreneurs.

Other Initiatives & Outreach

• The Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center supports and extends the globalization initiatives of the Wharton School through its annual Singapore and London programs.
• The Center also serves as a liaison between Wharton faculty and students and business professionals through programs like the Ballard Executive Visitor Series, named in honor of the late Claude Ballard, who established the Center’s first endowment.
• The Center also serves as a hub that connects alumni with faculty and real estate industry leaders through our alumni programs, such as the Young Professionals Breakfasts.