New real estate school coming to Chapman after $5 million grant from alumnus
Photo by Simrah Ahmad, Staff Photographer
Chapman alumnus Alex Hayden donated $5 million to fund a new real estate school within Argyros College of Business and Economics.
The grant will be used to supply more resources to real estate programs both at undergraduate and graduate levels, according to Matt Lightner, assistant director of the masters program in real estate. The new Alexander E. Hayden School of Real Estate will house the pre-existing graduate program, which Hayden says has around 30 students on average.
While it is not in official plans, Lightner and Hayden said that this could pave the way for a potential minor or bachelor’s degree in real estate, rather than the current undergraduate real estate offering — an emphasis within the business administration major.
“It could give access to more real estate education to students at the undergraduate level,” said Lightner. “And it indirectly allows for the resources for more faculty members to join the Argyros College to teach real estate.”
Lightner continued to highlight benefits of the addition, including that it will encourage more students to study at Chapman and could be used towards bringing in more faculty, and in turn increasing course options.
Hayden, a 1995 Chapman graduate, has built a successful career in real estate as vice chairman at CBRE Group, Inc., a real estate services and investment firm. He has also served as a chairman on the Argyros Board of Counselors for over 16 years and played a part in developing the master’s program. His goal is to provide more opportunities to get students started in the industry.
“There’s so many jobs in Orange County in real estate,” said Hayden. “We’re sitting right here in Orange County. We’ve gotta figure out how to be here and do (real estate) here.”
He also credits Chapman for helping him jumpstart his real estate career, and said he wants the same success for current and future students.
“That was an experience where I thought, ‘well, I can really do something here,’” said Hayden. “And when the whole education thing worked out, put me in a particular direction, I just thought, ‘I’ve got to figure out how to give back.’”
Matthew Salerno, junior economics major and president of Chapman Real Estate Association, emphasized that the club members are enthusiastic about the resources that the grant will provide.
“Everyone’s super excited, especially the freshmen, because we’ll have a lot more opportunities to learn at the undergraduate level,” said Salerno.
The club has around 200 members, who are all interested in pursuing real estate, according to Salerno. He suspects that the grant will lead to more students coming to Chapman to join the new school.
“I think that there will be a huge influx of students that come to Chapman specifically for real estate,” said Salerno. “We’re located in Orange County, it’s one of the best places to be in the real estate industry.”
Further decisions about what will come of the grant and the new real estate school are being discussed by university administration, according to Hayden and Lightner.
