H. Pike Oliver Joins Program as Senior Lecturer
ITHACA, NY. – The Cornell Program in Real Estate is pleased to announce the appointment of Pike Oliver as a full-time senior lecturer beginning in January 2009. Oliver, who brings over 30 years of real estate experience including expertise in land development and master planned communities, will lead the Program’s industry outreach efforts while also teaching the core real estate development courses. “Cornell’s program is ‘world class’ and it is a significant honor to be invited to join the faculty.” Said Oliver, adding, “I’m looking forward to sharing my ‘real world’ experience with students as they prepare for careers in real estate investment and development.”
Oliver continues a tradition of industry veterans bringing their experience to the Cornell real estate classroom. During his first semester at Cornell, Oliver will work closely with Senior Lecturer and former Program Director Brad Olson (BS ’62) to assume responsibility for the Residential Development course that Olson has taught since he joined the program in 1999. “Pike brings not only terrific real estate development experience but also a real enthusiasm for teaching and advising,” said David Funk, director of the Program in Real Estate, adding, “we are blessed to have someone of Pike’s caliber and reputation build on the Program’s strength in real estate development established by Brad (Olson) and Bob Abrams since (the Program’s) inception.”
In addition to teaching residential real estate development, Oliver will also teach the Development Process course offered each fall as well as develop a course in Real Estate Communications. Oliver will be leaving his current position as Senior Vice President at W Holdings, a consortium of companies that has investments and management responsibilities for an 80,000 acre land portfolio located mostly in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Prior to W Holdings, Oliver’s industry experience includes work with his own companies as well as several home building and land development firms, including The Irvine Company in Southern California.
Earlier in his career, Oliver worked for several public agencies, including the City of New York and the California Governor’s Office of Planning & Research. He received a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from San Francisco State University in 1970 and a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning from UCLA in 1974. Oliver also serves as Director and Treasurer of the Center for Natural Lands Management, a California based not-for-profit that manages over 50,000 acres of habitat reserves. “Pike’s degrees and interest in both architecture and urban planning are a wonderful compliment to real estate field faculty, and students will benefit from that background brought into the real estate development courses,” said Funk.
The Cornell Program in Real Estate offers a comprehensive, two-year professional degree in the field. Students at Cornell benefit from an encompassing core curriculum combined with a rich, diverse selection of real estate electives allowing for niche specialization—all in close interaction with the largest on-campus real estate faculty in the country. Cornell is also home to the Cornell Real Estate Council, an extensive network of industry leaders, the Cornell Real Estate Review, conferences, research and industry news, and more.
For additional information, please visit http://www.realestate.cornell.edu.