The Future of Real Estate Education

Karen M. McGrath is an award-winning researcher specializing in real estate sustainability and pedagogy. She serves as Chair of the Accounting and Financial Management Department at Bucknell University, her alma mater, where she also oversees the real estate program. Dedicated to applied learning, Karen designs and teaches courses in real estate finance, investment, and ESG, bridging theory and practice to prepare students for leadership in an evolving field. She holds an MRE from NYU and a PhD from the University of Reading.

Elaine Worzala is an award-winning real estate educator and has written extensively on real estate education programs. Instrumental in the design of the Commercial Real Estate Finance major at the College of Charleston, the full-time master’s program at Johns Hopkins University and the master’s at the University of San Diego, she has over 30 years of experience in higher education. Dedicating her life to carrying on the Wisconsin tradition, she believes strongly in the multidisciplinary approach to understanding real estate and regularly employs the power of project-based/experiential learning to make the classroom come alive for her students.

Pernille H. Christensen is Course Director of the Bachelor of Property Economics (BPE) at the University of Technology Sydney, leading a program with 18 full- and part-time staff, and over 475 students enrolled across its three-year degree. She holds a Professional Bachelor of Architecture (1996), dual Master of Architecture and Master of City & Regional Planning degrees (2000), and an interdisciplinary PhD in planning, design and the built environment (2012). Her teaching integrates academic and industry perspectives, preparing students to navigate and address contemporary complex challenges and shape the future of the built environment.