NAIOP SOCAL AND UCI CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE TO AWARD 2010 CRE-NAIOP FELLOWSHIP

Ø $7,500 Award Recognizes Strong Interest in Pursuing and Excelling at a Career in Commercial Real Estate

COSTA MESA, Calif. (August 19, 2010) – NAIOP SoCal, the region’s leading commercial real estate organization, and the Center for Real Estate at the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, will give a $7,500 financial award to the best MBA candidate who demonstrates a strong interest in pursuing and excelling at a commercial real estate career. The merit-based CRE-NAIOP Fellowship is a partnership between NAIOP SoCal and the Center for Real Estate designed to provide a deserving student with financial support to pursue the study of commercial real estate within a program that is ranked in the top 25 nationally among part-time business school programs, with The Paul Merage School of Business’ EMBA program ranking 23rd and FEMBA program ranking 24th according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2011 annual ranking of America’s Best Graduate Schools.

The CRE-NAIOP Fellowship will provide one recipient with a $7,500 financial award, which will be honored in the form of tuition over a period of three quarters, beginning fall 2010. Unique to the fellowship is the opportunity to serve as a liaison with the NAIOP SoCal Board of Directors.

“Education is one of the tenets of our chapter. As such our commitment to supporting and encouraging the next generation of industry leaders is deep,” said Greg Blomstrand, president of NAIOP SoCal and Principal-Managing Director of American Realty Advisors. “This is why we appreciate our partnership with the Center for Real Estate and their role in developing and nurturing real estate talent.”

Josh Needle, the first CRE-NAIOP Fellowship recipient in 2009, is now a senior associate with Buchanan Street Partners, as well as a member of NAIOP SoCal and part of the 2010 class of NAIOP SoCal’s Young Professionals Group (YPG). Josh is also Co-Chair of the UCI Real Estate Alumni association (UCIREA).

“It is a huge help to a career in real estate when you can distinguish yourself through valuable connections and learning opportunities. The members of NAIOP SoCal and the Center for Real Estate have provided me with time and support beyond anything that I had anticipated,” Needle said. “It’s really opened doors for me at a competitive time in the industry. I look forward to continuing my work with NAIOP and fostering the growth of a program that has made a significant impact in my life.”

The Fellowship will be awarded to an incoming full-time student or second year fully employed MBA student. The criteria for candidate selection will be determined by reviewing their admissions application which will take into consideration his/her undergraduate GPA, GMAT score and work experience. Current GPA for students enrolled in the FEMBA Program will be considered. An updated resume and an additional one-page essay describing why the candidate feels they should be awarded the fellowship must also be submitted for consideration.

Those interested in applying for the CRE-NAIOP Fellowship must complete the application and one-page essay and submit via email to the Full-Time MBA Office (to Jaycee Chu at JhChu@uci.edu) or the Fully Employed MBA Office (to Sofia Trinidad at strinida@uci.edu) by the end of day Friday, October 15, 2010. Documents may be downloaded from NAIOP SoCal’s website at http://www.naiopsocal.org/In-the-News or from the Center’s website at http://merage.uci.edu/ResearchAndCenters/CRE/.

Applications will be reviewed by the respective MBA Program Office and the Center for Real Estate. A short list of finalists will be established and interviewed by the Academic Director of the Center for Real Estate Development. The fellowship recipient will be announced by Friday, October 29,
2010.

About NAIOP SoCal
NAIOP SoCal is a chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, and it comprises more than 900 members serving the counties of Los Angeles and Orange.  NAIOP is the leading organization for developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial and mixed use real estate, with almost 14,000 members in North America.  NAIOP advances responsible commercial real estate development and advocates for effective public policy.  For more information, visit www.naiopsocal.org.

About the Center for Real Estate at the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business
The Center for Real Estate is one of six Centers of Excellence at The Paul Merage School of Business and is an integral and indispensable component of the program in Real Estate and Urban Development at the University of California, Irvine.  The mission of the Center for Real Estate is three-fold: to advance real estate education, conduct relevant research, and engage in meaningful industry outreach.   For more information, visit www.merage.uci.edu/GO/CRE.
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Contact:
Jessica Spaulding Thompson
Spaulding Thompson & Associates for NAIOP SoCal
(949) 305-2780, jessica@spauldingthompson.com