Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management

The Collaboratory

Empowering Tomorrow’s Real Estate and Construction Management Business Leaders in the Classroom of the Future

Welcome to the Marion J. Crean Collaboratory

Transforming the Educational Experience

Collaboration + Laboratory = Collaboratory

The Collaboratory is a networking center where students in the Burns School learn by connecting, engaging and interacting with DU alumni and real estate and construction professionals from anywhere in the world without leaving campus.

It makes the difference between students who have simply earned a degree and those who can hit the ground running to bring greater value and readiness to the companies and agencies they go to work for.

Who better to demonstrate the effect and influence the built environment has on the learning environment and student experience than the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management?

Above: The Liquid Galaxy is a key feature designed to encourage innovation, collaboration, communication and creative problem solving in an age of information and ever-changing dynamics.

Nurturing Lifelong Learning Journeys

Your support ensures the maintenance of our innovative classroom, where advanced technology continuously inspires and empowers students.

How It’s Making a Difference

Engaging Education

Burns School Professors teaching classes in the Collaboratory

Jeff Engelstad, PhD, CCIM Real Estate Financial Analysis, Income Property Finance

Eric Holt, PhD Construction Building Systems, Intro to Architecture & Design Management, Construction Estimating

Todd Johnson Residential Development

Vivek Sah, PhD Real Estate Capital Markets, Real Estate Investments

Daniel Trujillo, PhD, LEED AP BD+C Legal Issues and Risk Management, Sustainability and LEED

“The Advisor Network is the essence of what makes the center so special. It is a place where students and professionals can come together, share ideas and grow both personally and professionally.”

David Waterman
(BSBA 2022)

“It’s been a long time coming and I think it will have an amazing effect for the students and people who want to collaborate. It’s so applicable to today—the technology and the way people learn.”

Nello Gonfiantini III
(BSBA 1976, MBA 1977)

“You can get a lot of geospatial data around the property and start determining who the product is, why people would live there, what they want, what their needs are. It’s going to really transform how I teach.”

Eric Holt
Assistant Professor

Competition Environment

Race And Case

Winter 2022

Sherman Miller

Fall 2022

NAIOP Internal

Fall 2022

Industry Engagement Expansion

MiTek

2022
Demonstration

Housing Innovation Alliance

2023
Annual Conference

Meet Some of Our Industry Partners

Reserve our State-of-the-Art Classroom

Step into the future of collaboration and innovation by reserving our state-of-the-art 21st-century classroom as a platform to connect with our esteemed faculty and exceptional students, fostering a dynamic exchange of insights and opportunities. Your partnership not only enriches education but also fuels the synergy between industry expertise and academic brilliance. The Marion J. Crean Collaboratory is primarily dedicated to serving the Burns real estate program and hosting industry events that play a crucial role in enhancing the real estate and construction student experience.

Interested in learning more? Contact Ceci Smith.

Elevating Real Estate Education Where Innovation Meets Infrastructure

Help Sustain the Collaboratory

Support the seamless integration of cutting-edge technology into our 21st century classroom, ensuring that every student’s learning journey is enhanced by innovation and preparedness for the digital age. Your donation paves the way for a dynamic educational environment where technology transforms education. Your support of $3,500 or more will make your organization a member of the Daniels Corporate Partners Program, an esteemed group of 70+ organizations committed to Daniels and its mission.

Donate Today

Thank you for your continued support!

The Back Story and Vision

In September 2013, as Barbara Jackson, PhD, took the helm as director of the Burns School, she began meeting with recent alumni from the program who had been working in the industry for 1–8 years.

One of the common themes, especially among those who had graduated, worked for a number of years, and were now starting their own companies, was the desire to better connect with seasoned alumni. Many mentioned that starting a new company was “scary business,” and they all recognized the value that having greater access to experienced professionals would provide.

Consequently, Barbara started meeting with more senior alumni, particularly donors who had supported the program over the years. In one such meeting, the donor reminisced about what he would have given to have had access to the wisdom of veteran professionals when he was trying to navigate the trials and tribulations of the business and avoiding pitfalls over the years. It was in that conversation that the idea of the Collaboratory was born.

(Left to right) Michael Crean, PhD; Barbara Jackson, PhD; and Nello Gonfiantini III, June 2022.

RECM Alumni Nello Gonfiantini (Class of 1977) jump-started the vision by setting up an endowment to honor his mentor, Professor Mike Crean and the Burns School of Real Estate & Construction Management. At his good friend, Dr. Crean’s request, this endowment was directed to support the launch of the Marion J. Crean Collaboratory to honor of Mike Crean’s mother, Marion.

“The Collaboratory is an ideal venue for leaving a legacy to both my mother and to the Burns School, where I spent 44 years of my professional life and career as a professor.”

—Michael Crean, PhD

“If it weren’t for Mike Crean and the Burns School, I would have never gone into real estate, and real estate has been very good to me. I started the Collaboratory Endowment to honor “Crean” in a way that will serve generations of DU students to come. If he impacted your life like he did mine, then I hope you will become a contributor to this larger-than-life space to honor a larger-than-life guy.”

—Nello Gonfiantini III

We Believe in Making a Difference One Student at a Time

BARBARA JACKSON, PhD

"One of the best ways to prepare students for real world challenges and stimulate the development of real world solutions is to give them access to the expertise and wisdom that exists among our alumni and their 'school of hard knocks' experiences. The Collaboratory provides ready access to this invaluable wealth of experience and a front row seat to the real world."

DEAN VIVEK CHOUDHURY, PhD

"The M.J. Crean Collaboratory at the Burns School fits perfectly with our goal of developing graduates who are technologically and analytically savvy with hands-on experience on the latest technologies and tools.

"The Collaboratory will be a national benchmark for state of the art, technology-enabled education in real estate and the built environment. In addition, it will allow our students to interact with and learn from leading industry professionals around the world, commensurate with Daniels’ vision of real-world, experiential education. I am very enthusiastic about seeing the Collaboratory built and implemented at Daniels."

MICHAEL CREAN, PhD

"The Collaboratory is an ideal venue for leaving a legacy to both my mother and to the Burns School, where I spent 44 years of my professional life and career as a professor."

When the concept of a Collaboratory was conceived, the Burns School had received a generous donation from Nello Gonfiantini, who gave the money to honor the impact that Professor Mike Crean made on him while Nello was a student at the University of Denver. Mike promptly stated that instead of having the Collaboratory named after him, he wanted it named after his beloved mother, Marion J. Crean, herself a visionary in her time who had such an impact on his life growing up.

MARION J. CREAN

Marion J. O’Keefe Crean was not a typical young woman growing up in the 1930s. She was an avid athlete who channeled her unharnessed spirit and love of competition to excel in baseball, tennis, basketball and track. It was her fierce determination, independence, openness, honesty and take-charge attitude that mentored her sons Mike and his three younger brothers after their father died.

It is fitting that these same qualities are what we at the Burns School will ignite in the students who will be using the Collaboratory to discover solutions to all kinds of real estate and construction challenges, all the while exploring career paths and opportunities under the tutelage and encouragement of industry advisors and alumni.

NELLO GONFIANTINI III

"If it weren’t for Mike Crean and the Burns School, I would have never gone into real estate, and real estate has been very good to me. I started the Collaboratory Endowment to honor “Crean” in a way that will serve generations of DU students to come.

"If he impacted your life like he did mine, then I hope you will become a contributor to this larger-than-life space to honor a larger-than-life guy."

In recognition of and with sincere gratitude to those who helped make the Marion J. Crean Collaboratory possible

Founding Partner
Nello Gonfiantini, III BSBA 1976, MBA 1977

Founding Contributors
Daniel B. Close (BSBA 2010) & Kyndal H. (MBA 2011) Close
Stephen M. (MS 2002) & Amy Farnsworth
Brent M. Forsberg (MS 2021)
Roderick F. Gilbert (BSBA 1984)
David J. Karimi-Asl (BSBA 2018)
Gregory Y. (BSBA 1992) & Stacey A. Lubar
Lauren And Brian Waterman
David K. Waterman (BSBA 2022)

Supporting Partners
Kevin M. (BSBA 1978, MBA 1979) & Catherine A. Crean
Hank (BS 1979, MBA 1981) & Dr. Cheryl Saipe
Paul & Joann Tyson

Sustaining Partners
Rifkin Bennis Family Foundation
James T. (BSBA 1974) & Ann Bishop (BA 1973) Lampman
Glenn R. (BSBA 1974) & Jan H. (MA 1990) Mueller
Charles Pankow Foundation
Marc & Nancy Taxman

Dedicated June 3, 2022

The Waterman Family

Advisory Network Collaboration Hub