The School of Architecture and Planning announce the appointment of new leadership at the MIT Center for Real Estate as it enters its 40th year
Effective August 1, 2024, Siqi Zheng, STL Champion Professor of Urban and Real Estate Sustainability, will continue serving as CRE’s faculty director. She will lead the Center’s intellectual agenda, expanding interdisciplinary connections within SA+P, the Sloan School of Management, and across the MIT campus. Since 2020, Siqi has been integrating sustainability into the Master’s program curriculum, fostering research collaborations across departments, and elevating the Center’s global profile. She will also continue representing the Center at the SA+P School Council while building on the sustainability theme in CRE, including through her MSRED course, “Sustainable Real Estate.”
Kairos Shen, Associate Professor of the Practice, has concluded his service as the Center’s executive director, a role he assumed in 2020. During his tenure, Kairos guided the Center through the challenges of the pandemic, expanded alumni engagement—including reinstating the Spaulding Award—and built a collaborative relationship with the Harvard Real Estate program to strengthen CRE’s ties to the Boston education community. Kairos will continue contributing to the Center by teaching the MSRED course “Real Estate Development Studio,”.
Taking on new leadership roles are Walter Torous and James Scott. Walter, a longtime senior lecturer in CRE with a joint appointment in the Sloan School, will become the Director of the MSRED program. A leading scholar in real estate finance and economics, Walter has previously served as the Lee and Seymour Graff Distinguished Professor and founding director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA. His leadership will be crucial in shaping the future direction of the MSRED curriculum as the industry faces evolving financial and market challenges.
James, a CRE lecturer specializing in real estate technology, will become the Director of Industry and Professional Programs. With an extensive background in real estate innovation, James is well-positioned to drive the Center’s education initiatives in integrating technological advancements into real estate practice. His leadership will be vital in fostering strong industry collaborations and ensuring that the Center remains at the forefront of industry trends.
The Center extends gratitude to Kairos for his dedicated service to CRE, and to Siqi for her ongoing leadership. CRE welcomes Walter and James to their new positions. The Center moves forward together into a new chapter as it embarks on its next 40 years.
