Cambridge Chairman Jeffrey A. Davis Appointed to Service on Board of Advisors for Graaskamp Center for Real Estate

 CHICAGO, IL--Cambridge Realty Capital Companies Chairman Jeffrey A. Davis (top right photo)  has been appointed to serve on the Board of Advisors for the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.

The Center is named for the late James Graaskamp (middle left photo), a professor and department chairman of real estate at the university between 1964-1988. Prof. Graaskamp is credited with helping to establish his field within the realm of academia and with creating the multi-faceted ethics-based curriculum now widely used in teaching real estate at Madison and other institutions.

Davis is a 1976 graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a Master’s degree in real estate finance. He says Prof. Graaskamp’s devotion to students and his exceptional oratory skills earned him legions of loyal student followers.

“Prof. Graaskamp believed in preparing students to tackle complex, unstructured problems that didn't lend themselves to neat academic models,” he noted.

In the 1970s, Prof. Graaskamp began to advocate for an environmental ethic in real estate proceedings, noting that development has considerable and nearly irrepressible impact on the land. He also advocated for a much more comprehensive approach to feasibility analysis and his book, A Guide to Feasibility Analysis, is a standard text today.

Prof. Graaskamp overcame many personal obstacles. Polio left him a quadriplegic at age 17, but he went on to earn a degree in creative writing from Rollins College, an MBA in securities analysis from Marquette University, and a doctorate in urban land economics and risk management from the University of Wisconsin.

To honor his distinguished teaching career, The Wisconsin School of Business Center for Real Estate was renamed in his honor in 2007.

Executive Director Michael Brennan (lower right photo) said the Graaskamp Center’s mission is to train competent, creative and collaborative professionals who are prepared to be leaders in the real estate industry. The Advisory Board is a core support group of real estate industry leaders who advise the center on its agenda, mentors student, participate in board meetings and contribute to the Wisconsin real estate tradition as guest lecturers at the school.

 Contact:

Evan Washington

Phone: (312) 521-7604

Fax: (312) 357-1611

E-Mail:  ew@cambridgecap.com