The Dean's Letter

June 8, 2022

$30 million Gift to establish Paul Rubacha Department of Real Estate

Dear College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and SC Johnson College of Business communities,

This spring, the university announced plans to create a multicollege department of Real Estate that will be jointly managed by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. The goal of this new department is to build upon the already successful Baker Real Estate Program, further enhancing real estate education and scholarship at Cornell.

Today, we are pleased to announce a generous $30 million gift from Paul Rubacha '72, MBA '73, to create a multicollege department of Real Estate. The gift includes $25 million to establish the Paul Rubacha Department of Real Estate and $5 million to incentivize others to contribute through a matching fund challenge. This gift signals an exciting new phase in real estate education at Cornell and we are grateful to Paul for his support.

Feedback from faculty already indicated that a department dedicated to real estate was needed at Cornell. We believe that the new department will build upon our existing strengths, and open pathways to even greater engagement with other Cornell colleges and schools, alumni and industry partners, as well as further broadening our reach in New York City.

Over the coming months, Deans Yoon and Karolyi will work closely with faculty, staff, and students engaged in real estate scholarship and courses to chart a path for the new department.

Here is a link to a Cornell Chronicle article with additional details about the gift.

Sincerely,

Michael Kotlikoff
Provost

J. Meejin Yoon
Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Andrew Karolyi
Charles Field Knight Dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business