San Diego State University's College of Business Administration recently announced the launch of The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate. The center was established with a donation from the McMillin family who owns one of San Diego's most successful real estate and development companies.

Real estate research hub and more

The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate was created to improve the educational experience for real estate students at SDSU, foster academic research in the area of real estate, and to act as a liaison with real estate professionals, government and industry organizations.

"As a real estate professional, I look forward to the contributions The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate stands to make in terms of real estate research and the education of future industry professionals," said Mark McMillin  ('79, marketing), president and CEO of The Corky McMillin Companies.

"On behalf of the McMillin family, we proudly support the continued development of SDSU's real estate program and the student-run Real Estate Society of San Diego State University."

New director named

The college also announced Michael Lea as the center's director. Lea has more than 30 years of experience in the financial and real estate industries, having previously held high-level positions at Countrywide Financial Corporation, Freddie Mac and Imperial Corporation of America.

Lea formerly taught at Cornell University, University of California San Diego and the Wharton International Housing Finance Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he is the principal of Cardiff Economic Consulting, which specializes in analysis of domestic and international mortgage markets and institutions.

"As the first director of The Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further real estate research and expand the real estate educational program at SDSU," said Lea.

"I look forward to the challenges offered by position and I plan to hit the ground running."

Blending real-world expertise and academic experience

"With his real-world expertise and his academic experience, Dr. Lea is an ideal choice to head the Center," said Mike Neal, chair of SDSU's real estate advisory board and the president and CEO of the H.G. Fenton Company.

"We welcome his arrival at SDSU and eagerly anticipate the leadership Dr. Lea will bring to his new position and to the real estate program."

Lea began his role at the Center on Oct.12 and will begin teaching classes during the spring semester of 2010.