Rutgers Business School establishes $3 million Paul V. Profeta Chair in Real Estate

Dean Glenn R. Shafer announced today the establishment of a $3 million "Paul V. Profeta Chair in Real Estate." The new faculty position will enable Rutgers Business School to bring in an academic leader to build an MBA concentration in real estate, conduct international research and provide educational and career opportunities for students in an industry vital to New Jersey and the world’s economy.

The faculty chair in real estate was made possible thanks to a $1.5 million commitment by Paul V. Profeta, president and owner of Paul V. Profeta and Associates, Inc., which is involved in real estate investment, management and leasing throughout the country; and a matching $1.5 million from an anonymous donor who pledged $27 million towards an Endowed Chair Challenge to bring 18 world-class faculty to Rutgers, part of the "Our Rutgers, Our Future" campaign.

"Real estate investment is a major factor in the development of the global economy," said Shafer. "New demands for financial sophistication in real estate, along with expectations for sustainability and increasing regulation, have created an unmet demand in New Jersey for personnel trained in finance, accounting, and supply-chain management in the field of real estate."

Shafer said that with its international presence and strategic location, "Rutgers Business School plans to become a global thought leader in this under-served yet critical field."

Funding a faculty chair in real estate was vital according to Profeta, who is a member of Rutgers Business School’s Board of Advisers. "Real estate is such an integral part of the economy, yet there is a huge need for well-trained professionals," he said. "Having Rutgers Business School focus on real estate will be hugely beneficial for companies involved in this complex sector."

Profeta (who was raised in Maplewood but spent his childhood "hanging out" in Newark) founded the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation at Rutgers Business School in 2008, which provides free consulting advice and seed capital for minority owned businesses in Newark, N.J. The seed capital that Profeta’s Foundation invests is in the form of interest free loans to the budding businesses he is trying to launch or expand. Through a partnership with The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers Business School, the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation at Rutgers Business School has helped launch and expand several minority businesses in Newark already.

From 1980 until 1989, Profeta served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Graduate School of Business. He holds a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

The "Paul V. Profeta Chair in Real Estate" at Rutgers Business School marks the seventh chair to be met in the Rutgers University chair challenge match and is also the seventh chair in the history of the business school.