Through the generosity of Richard H. Driehaus and Driehaus Lead Trust, an endowed chair and a center for behavioral finance have been established in the support of an innovative, interdisciplinary field that examines the psychology of investing and financial markets. Professor Werner DeBondt, Ph.D., has been named Chair and Director of the Center as of Autumn 2002.

Through the generosity of the Scholl Foundation, this endowed chair was established for a nationally recognized scholar in the field of financial management. Professor Keith M. Howe, Ph.D., has been holder of the Scholl Chair since 1986.

The Real Estate Center acts as a resource and network for the real estate community and for DePaul’s students and alumni. Center sponsored events include a January economic forecast conference, a fall symposium on regional land use issues, and a series of continuing professional education courses and seminars. Each spring the Center hosts the national meeting of the prestigious Real Estate Research Institute, which attracts prominent scholars, investment managers and the research directors of major institutional investors. Founding Sponsors of the Center, students, and alumni meet each May at a luncheon and award ceremony.  The center provides scholarships for both graduate and undergraduate students.

The Center provides funding for faculty to develop and write multi-media cases that can be used in the academic curriculum for real estate programs nationwide. Recent topics include techniques for hedging real estate development interest rate risk; portfolio allocation issues for a global real estate firm; an evaluation of a real estate investment trust merger; and a tax deferred disposition problem.  Subjects of these cases have all been Chicago-based firms with strong ties to the Real Estate Center at DePaul.
The generosity of Douglas and Cynthia Crocker created an endowed directorship for the Real Estate Center, and that position is held by Susanne Cannon, Ph.D.