The Daniels College of Business Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management stands out because of its name.
It honors its primary benefactor, Denver homebuilding and commercial real estate visionary Franklin Lane Burns, who attended DU in the late 1930s. But it’s the last five words that make the school truly unique: Real Estate and Construction Management.
The Burns School is the only institution in the country that (1) combines the real estate and construction management disciplines and (2) houses them within a business college.
“Real estate and construction management programs typically reside in different colleges within a university,” said Vivek Sah director of the Burns School. “Real estate tends to be part of a business school under finance or economics. But it also may be elsewhere—part of urban planning or in a school of architecture.
“Construction management programs are typically standalone programs or part of an engineering school,” Sah added. “We’re the only school in the country with construction management as part of the business school.
“We go further and combine the two programs using a holistic approach, meaning that we teach our students real estate and construction management in a cross-disciplinary manner.”
Our students on the real estate track are better grounded in the fundamentals of not just real estate but also construction management. It gives them a stronger foundation with which to compete for jobs.
A strong curricular foundation
The Burn School’s curriculum—whether at the undergraduate or graduate level—is structured to provide a broad-based education while still allowing for specialization in one of three tracks: real estate finance and investment; real estate development; or construction management.
Prior to beginning a track, students take foundational courses—about 60% of their coursework—which are a mix of real estate and construction management. Sah says students develop a strong cross-disciplinary foundation, better preparing them for the professional world.
“Our students on the real estate track are better grounded in the fundamentals of not just real estate but also construction management,” Sah said. “It gives them a stronger foundation with which to compete for jobs.
“They go in understanding discussions between builders and contractors and the implications of the decisions being made. Students from other programs typically don’t have that exposure.
“Our students on the construction management track have a fundamental understanding of real estate, which includes macroeconomics—the impact of interest rates, for example, which has been a critically important factor over the past few years,” Sah added. “They understand supply and demand and their impact on budgeting decisions. They have a solid basis in finance and economics, which is the advantage of being in a business school.”
Sah stated that the undergraduate curriculum emphasizes theoretical fundamentals, while the graduate program focuses on applied learning through case studies and peer-to-peer engagement.
Working in the real world
Stevie Tuck and his partner, Elise LoSasso, own and operate Tuck Development, a Denver-based developer and builder of spec and custom homes and large-scale renovations. Between managing their development team, client relationships, architects, engineers, the Denver planning department and an extensive subcontractor base, Tuck and LoSasso run at lightspeed and rely on employees who can think broadly.
Tuck and LoSasso currently employ two Burns interns. Master’s student Elizabeth Mondo is learning the industry as Tuck’s near-full-time administrative assistant. Undergraduate Ben Rushford is working part-time as an assistant project manager.
“There are so many moving parts in a real estate transaction. We own a general contracting company, but only about 20% of what we do has anything to do with building a home. The rest is how we run our company,” Tuck said. “As a developer, I deal with investors and architects; banks and acquisitions; and realtors and exit strategies. Understanding that whole lifecycle, how one event affects the next—from acquisition to closing loans to what the interest rates look like—is critically important to us.”
The same kind of multi-disciplinary mindset is important at Sharing Connexion, Inc., a unique nonprofit that helps other nonprofits and affordable housing organizations manage and maximize the value of real estate donations, provide real estate-focused financial resources, and expand and preserve affordable housing, including those at risk of displacement.
Sharing Connexion routinely uses the expertise of Burns’ graduate interns, finding their cross-disciplinary real estate and construction management education a great fit for both the uniqueness and complexities of their projects.
“From our point of view, looking at the students that come through our program, Burns offers the only experience in the country that is providing its students with full exposure to real estate, from soup to nuts,” said Ed Anderson, founder and CEO of Sharing Connexion and member of the Burns Advisory Board.
“Burns’ students have consistently shown us they’re prepared to navigate the professional world,” added Chérie Talbert, executive director of Sharing Connexion. “And we think that is due to the well-rounded, full-view approach this curriculum provides.”
Real estate or construction management, the Burns School has it. It’s all in the name.