$1 Million Gift Endows Academic Directorship of the Center for Real Estate and Finance

Arthur Adler '78 and Karen Newman Adler '78 have committed a $1 million gift to endow the academic directorship of the Center for Real Estate and Finance (CREF) at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration (SHA).

As the current director of CREF and SHA professor of real estate, Daniel Quan will serve as the first Arthur Adler '78 and Karen Newman Adler '78 Academic Director. "This endowment will provide a foundation for future growth of CREF, allowing us to introduce new initiatives within the program that would otherwise not be possible without the Adlers' generosity," says Quan.

The Center for Real Estate and Finance, which was founded in 2009, sponsors rigorous, academic research; disseminates knowledge to practitioners; and provides a forum for the exchange of ideas among professionals, academic community, and students. In conjunction with Cornell's undergraduate minor in real estate, CREF provides opportunities for students to engage with industry leaders through on-campus speaker series and panel discussions, and the annual Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition.

"CREF offers invaluable experiences for students outside of the classroom to gain substantial knowledge of the real estate and finance industries. We are honored to support the CREF mission, as well as to give back to Cornell University which has given us so much," say Art and Karen of their gift.

The Adlers met on the Cornell campus, both graduating in 1978. Art is an alumnus of SHA, and presently managing director and CEO of the Americas for Jones Lang LaSalle's Hotels & Hospitality Group. Karen is an alumna of the College of Human Ecology and graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business with a master's degree in finance, and has worked in commercial real estate for several national financial institutions. Their son is a member of the class of 2016 in the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences and their daughter is a corporate revenue manager for a national hotel company.

In addition to endowing the CREF academic directorship, the Adlers have previously supported SHA with their generous gift in 2008 to establish the Arthur '78 and Karen '78 Adler scholarship, and their gift in 2003 to name the Arthur '78 and Karen '78 Adler Faculty Office. Arthur is a member of the CREF advisory board, was a keynote speaker at the 2010 student-run conference, Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), and has twice been a speaker for the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series.

About the Center for Real Estate and Finance
Established in 2009, the Center for Real Estate and Finance provides a platform for educating students, creating new knowledge through research activities, and exchanging information about real estate and finance with a broad set of audiences. CREF is at the forefront of research in all areas of commercial real estate, from the study of the behavior of real estate assets in investment portfolios to an understanding of real estate capital markets to the science of hedging real estate risk. To learn more about CREF, visit www.cref.cornell.edu.

CREF Industry Partners: Access Point Financial • Atlantic Pacific Companies • The Buccini/Pollin Group • Caribbean Property Group • The Chartres Lodging Group • Crescent Heights • Grove International Partners • Hersha Hospitality Trust • HFF • Hilton Worldwide • Hudson's Bay Company • HVS • IHG • Jones Lang LaSalle • LaSalle Hotel Properties • Marriott International • The Mega Company • PWC • Proskauer • Prudential Real Estate Investors • Real Capital Analytics • RLJ Lodging Trust • Sawyer Realty Holdings • Starwood Capital Group • Stonebridge Companies • Sunstone Hotel Investors • W Holdings • Watermark Capital Partners, LLC • Wells Fargo • Westbrook Partners • Wyndham Hotel Group

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