{"id":133504,"date":"2026-01-27T14:06:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133504\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:06:52","slug":"usf-expands-real-estate-education-with-1-25m-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133504\/","title":{"rendered":"USF expands real estate education with $1.25M gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF alumnus Jeffery Hills donated $1.25M to help USF launch a new real estate master\u2019s program. ORACLE PHOTO\/COLE ABRUZZESE<\/p>\n

USF will launch a Master of Science in Real Estate in fall 2027 to prepare students for careers across the real estate industry \u2014 from development to investment and property management.<\/p>\n

Randy Anderson is the director of real estate programs at USF\u2019s Muma College of Business and joined the university in June 2025.<\/p>\n

Anderson said he hopes to build a program that becomes a \u201ctop\u201110\u201d real estate education program in the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe we can do it because we\u2019re in a very dynamic real estate market and we can bring world\u2011class faculty together with top industry leaders to help students,\u201d Anderson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anderson said the program is being designed to provide students with practical skills, mentorship opportunities and exposure to industry leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s implementation responds to strong student interest and the growing demand for real estate expertise in the Tampa Bay area, he said.<\/p>\n

Related: USF receives $40M gift for new AI, cybersecurity and computing college<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The initiative was made possible by a $1.25 million gift from Tampa developer and USF alumnus Jeffery Hills, the president of Eisenhower Property Group, in December 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Eisenhower Property Group<\/a> was founded in 2004 and specializes in acquiring and developing large-scale residential and mixed-use communities across Florida, according to its LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

Anderson said the donation will support curriculum development and faculty engagement in the program \u2014 reflecting broader growth in private support and professional education at USF.<\/p>\n

USF has seen substantial philanthropic investments across campus in recent years, including significant gifts for other specialized programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year, USF received a $40 million donation<\/a> from Arnie and Lauren Bellini, which helped establish the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: USF graduate programs gain national attention in latest U.S. News ranking<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anderson said real estate covers a wide range of work, from development and construction to investment and property management, and plays a major role in the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very strong environment for students to learn and succeed exists here because of how closely education connects to real-world careers,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n

But Anderson said interest in real estate education at USF was already evident before he began his role last summer.<\/p>\n

Anderson said over 700 students are \u201calready active\u201d in real estate clubs \u2014 like the student-organized Real Estate Society<\/a> \u2014 and internships, and have demonstrated a strong interest and commitment to the field.<\/p>\n

Anderson said the level of enthusiasm and student demand for the real estate program made the decision to invest in it easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said his role focuses on building a program to prepare graduates to contribute on day one of their careers \u2014 even if they aren\u2019t immediately leading major development projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anderson confirmed work has already begun on designing the required courses for the program.<\/p>\n

The USF Real Estate Advisory Board used surveys and skills assessments to gather input on which courses to offer.<\/p>\n

That input will help refine the final design of the curriculum and advise on any necessary changes to provide students with the required skills and mentorship, Anderson said.<\/p>\n

Anderson noted the 40\u2011member advisory board is composed of seasoned real estate professionals from Tampa Bay and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The board includes leaders in development, acquisitions, banking and property management, and will help shape curriculum, mentorship, internship placements and guide job outcomes for students, he said.<\/p>\n

Related: USF Muma College of Business faculty, students welcome plans for new building<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anderson said the curriculum will balance foundational real estate knowledge with specialized skills that reflect the breadth of industry career paths.<\/p>\n

He said one challenge for building the program is designing a curriculum that meets the needs of students headed into diverse fields within real estate without overloading learners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t make someone an expert in a master\u2019s program,\u201d Anderson said, \u201cBut we can take them to the next level and give them the concepts they need to continue learning in their careers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anderson said that financial aid, fellowships and assistantships remain under review and will be clarified as the program\u2019s design progresses.<\/p>\n

Still, Anderson said he expects USF to stand among other nationally recognized institutions for real estate education in the next five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a university that\u2019s mentioned in the conversation,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want our students to graduate ready to lead the industry, and this program is designed to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"USF alumnus Jeffery Hills donated $1.25M to help USF launch a new real estate master\u2019s program. ORACLE PHOTO\/COLE…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-133504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}