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 The UW's Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies (UWRC) is the focal point for real estate educational activites including teaching, research and service. The UWRC is a service organization, charged with developing a leading real estate program that can help advance the industry and produce students who can launch, or maintain, successful careers. I would like to take this opportunity to express my excitement with the opportunity I have been provided to help spearhead the development of a world class real estate program at the University of Washington in Seattle. I have split my professional career almost equally between the academic and industry communities and look forward to helping bridge the gap between the two perspectives. At the University of Washington, we approach real estate as a unique discipline but also realize it is a multidisciplinary field covering a range of related disciplines. To that end, we have developed an interdisciplinary approach to the field, drawing on related disciplines to ensure we approach real estate with the appropriate breadth. At the same time, we recognize that real estate is both inherently complex and a dynamic area of study that deals with the space-time, money-time continuum. In this environment, we believe it is our responsibility to assume an active leadership role in both our academic and professional associations to ensure that we stay abreast of the latest approaches. We also strive to maintain our established network of professional relationships, both with individuals and companies who support our efforts, provide us guidance, and hire our students. Our programs, policies and initiatives will be dynamic to enable us to respond to new industry trends, technologies and professional practices that will inevitably emerge. We recognize that we must approach this revolution in a comprehensive, inclusive manner that benefits from a diversity of beliefs, experiences and outlooks. While we will embrace change, we will also pay close attention to figuring out how such changes will ultimately play out in the industry. You are an important part of that system. We welcome your comments and feedback. While some have approached real estate development from either a producer's or regulator's perspective, we believe that such decisions should be viewed from a more integrated perspective. That is, the process should incorporate the perspectives of space producers, space users and facilitators, striking a delicate balance affecting current and future consumption.
James R. DeLisle, Ph.D.
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