Center News

Graaskamp Dedication Shares Memories and Celebrates the Future of the Wisconsin Real Estate Program

E.J. Plesko, Stuart Ackerberg, and Prof. Tim Riddiough at the Graaskamp Dedication and Naming Ceremony, Fluno Center, Madison, April 25, 2007.

It’s a rare day when a university department is renamed after a renowned individual.

It’s even rarer when that individual is as unique as was James A. Graaskamp.

On Wednesday and Thursday, April 25 and 26, 2007, the University of Wisconsin Center for Real Estate—founded by James Graaskamp and several graduate students back in 1971—was officially renamed in honor of Graaskamp, who taught in the program for 24 years and was chairman for two decades until his death in 1988 at the age of 54.

At 17, Graaskamp, a celebrated athlete, had become a quadriplegic after being stricken by polio. Nevertheless, he pursued higher education, with his later professional success easily overshadowing his personal travails. In the 1970s and ‘80s, he established himself as an iconoclastic thinker in the areas of appraisal, development and real estate education. Meanwhile, his efforts to manage his handicap inspired legions of students who worked for him and studied under him.

The two-day naming ceremony, held at Madison’s Monona Terrace and the University of Wisconsin Fluno Center for Executive Education, included a tribute to Graaskamp the man and mentor, as well as close looks at the professional world he inhabited. Speakers and panel discussions included:

Alumnus Stuart Ackerberg, (B.S. 1979), CEO of The Ackerberg Group, who inaugurated the E.J. Plesko Distinguished Speaker Series in Real Estate Development with an eloquent portrayal of the lessons he learned as a Graaskamp student.

A remarkable special 11-minute presentation on Graaskamp's life was created and shown by alumnus Jim Curtis (M.S. 1976), principal of The Bristol Group.

At a panel titled, “Graaskamp’s Legacy,” alumni Arun Bhatia, Jim Smith, Stephen Jarchow, and Bryant Wangard alternated between amusing and poignant as they related stories of time spent with their former teacher.

A panel on “Recent Innovations and Macrotrends in the Real Estate Industry” featured Geoff Dohrmann, Larry Duggins and Leanne Lachman, who discussed the significance of securitization and the prospects of “greener” construction.

A little-known facet of Graaskamp’s life—his time on Wall Street—was recounted by David Shulman, who met Graaskamp while he was directing real estate research at Salomon Brothers in the late 1980s.

A final panel focused on the discussions behind the recent Equity Office/Blackstone transaction, and  featured alumni Kevin Crummy, Brian Berry, Michael Casey, Bruce Johnson, and a special guest appearance by Roy March, CEO of Eastdil Secured, who was involved in the negotiations.

As a ceremonial nightcap, music by “The Contractions,” a group of economists toting rock’n roll instruments instead of calculators, played to a standing-room only crowd at Madison’s King Club. Prof. Morris Davis, who joined the real estate program in 2006, was on bass. See the band on MySpace!

A full list of speakers and panelists at the Graaskamp Dedication is available here. (PDF)

 

“He was the epitome of Wisconsin’s tradition of engaged scholarship – a rare mixture of electrifying teacher and socially conscious capitalist. His loss is inestimable.”

Milwaukee Journal – April 26, 1988

 

 

“Jim Graaskamp was one the most dedicated  and gifted teachers in the history of this university. A towering figure in his field. He leaves his mark on a generation of students who were rigorously trained and filled with his enthusiasm for improving the quality of our physical environment, and who are rapidly becoming leaders in the field.”

Former Chancellor Donna E. Shalala