White Family Gift Paves Way for Real Estate Center

Release Date: Oct 29, 2007

A $1.5 million gift from the White Family Foundation has provided the funding necessary to create the Lewis White Center for Real Estate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration. The center will deliver undergraduate and graduate degree programs in real estate with the goal of developing a nationally prominent center for real estate research and education. 

The White family gift honors their late father, Lewis White, founder and partner of Copaken, White & Blitt real estate firm and founder and director of Hillcrest Bank.

“The White family’s investment will enable students to learn the financial risks and rewards of urban real estate development and the relationship between public policy and urban development,” says O. Homer Erekson, dean of the Bloch School. “The center’s focus on the commercial real estate development will enhance the Bloch School’s ability to supply Kansas City with a workforce skilled in addressing the community’s needs.”

Bloch School Dean O. Homer Erekson (left) with Jerry White, son of Lewis White, after whom the new Real Estate Center at Bloch is named.

The Lewis White Center for Real Estate involves all aspects of commercial real estate development including real estate finance, appraisal, urban development and asset management. While the initial degree programs will emphasize the business aspects of commercial real estate practice, the Bloch School will coordinate course offerings with other academic units at UMKC who offer complementary coursework, providing interdisciplinary opportunities for students across UMKC to gain exposure to the study of real estate.

Courses begin immediately this fall with Real Estate Market Analysis, available to undergraduate and graduate-level students as well as to all Kansas City-area business and real estate professionals.

In addition, the center will partner with the Bloch School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to develop entrepreneurial initiatives in commercial real estate. As a result, students will be able to take advantage of experiential learning opportunities via projects that focus on innovation and creativity in commercial real estate.

The center also will serve as a hub for scholars who have demonstrated expertise and are interested in investing in commercial real estate development issues.

The Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at UMKC is Kansas City’s only institution fully accredited by both the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The Bloch School is home to nationally renowned faculty and research centers as well as cutting-edge curricula in entrepreneurship, financial services, leadership, accounting, urban affairs and non-profit management. The Bloch School offers degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, Executive MBA and doctoral levels. 

UMKC, one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a three-part mission: visual and performing arts, health and life sciences, and urban affairs.

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