Remembering Dr. Gloria Schuck, longtime lecturer at MIT’s Center for Real Estate
A beloved educator and mentor with a legacy of 40 years inspiring and challenging students to harness the science and art of management and leadership.
Dr. Gloria Schuck, a longtime lecturer at MIT Center for Real Estate (MIT/CRE), the Sloan School of Management, and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), passed away December 25, 2024. She was 73 years old*.
For nearly four decades, Dr. Schuck was a dedicated educator, researcher, and mentor, shaping the minds of real estate professionals and leaders. She played a pivotal role at MIT/CRE, serving as its Director of Education for two years and guiding the development of the Master’s degree program. She also conducted research at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research, focusing on the impact of information technology on organizations and learning.
“Gloria was always willing to help MIT/CRE in any capacity, skillfully and with great humanity and compassion. You could confide in her and get the best advice; I learned so much from her,” says Albert Saiz, Professor of Urban Economics and Real Estate in DUSP and MIT/CRE.
Dr. Schuck taught Managing the Real Estate Company for fifteen years before transitioning to teach Leadership in the Real Estate Industry for the next twenty-three. Her leadership course became a cornerstone of the Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) program, emphasizing the continuous process of learning and personal development.
“Gloria’s energy and passion were unmatched, and her emphasis on soft skills and vulnerability in leadership deeply inspired generations of students. She will be greatly missed.”
– Hamid Moghadam, CEO, Prologis
Through reflection, inquiry, and self-directed learning, she helped students develop a deeper understanding of leadership, engage with industry executives, and craft their own visions and values. Her teaching inspired students to become self-aware and to cultivate their leadership capabilities. Hamid R. Moghadam, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Prologis, spent the last 25 years participating as a guest lecturer in Dr. Shucks Leadership course, “Gloria’s energy and passion were unmatched, and her emphasis on soft skills and vulnerability in leadership deeply inspired generations of students. She will be greatly missed.”
Prior to her time at MIT, Dr. Schuck was a Research Associate at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. She went on to earn her doctorate and master’s degrees from Harvard University’s School of Education and pursued additional graduate studies at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Stanford Business School.
Over Dr. Schuck’s career, her research interests centered on the intersection of technology, management, and organizational learning. She explored how information systems reshape managerial roles, organizational structures, and innovation processes. Through her supervision of over a hundred management case studies, she provided insights into the evolving nature of leadership and learning in various industries.
Dr. Schuck’s consulting and research spanned more than twenty countries, where she advised global corporations and government entities on leadership development and organizational transformation. She worked with major firms including Citibank, Motorola, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, and Verizon, designing and leading executive workshops that shaped corporate leadership strategies. She also lent her expertise to the Government of Mexico, coaching the country’s emerging leaders, and collaborated with utility companies to redefine their regulatory frameworks and stakeholder relationships.
Her colleagues and students remember her as an insightful, dedicated, and compassionate mentor whose influence extended far beyond the classroom. Her ability to bridge academia and industry, theory and practice, made her a transformative figure in the fields of leadership and real estate education.
“Gloria challenged us to take an unflinching look inwards–to find our values, to be vulnerable, and see what truly matters, but most of all to listen. She taught us that leadership is about empathy and authenticity. That lesson will stay with me throughout my life!”
– Beatriz G. Klink MIT ’23 (former student)
Outside of the classroom, Dr. Schuck enjoyed spending time with her family, traveling, and mentoring women, often all at the same time. She routinely escaped the Boston winter for the New Zealand summer, but her other favorite destination was Paris.
For the last decade, Dr. Schuck and her husband L. Brent Manssen, were deeply involved with a women’s organization in Kenya, Manasprings. They spent time in Kenya working directly with the founders and the local women they empower. In the words of the Manasprings founders, “She was a dear friend, mentor, teacher, and encourager. Her expertise is felt today in the way Manasprings delivers its programs. Her fingerprints are on the presentations, her voice still heard, ‘You can do it!’ She wholeheartedly loved, breathed and inspired Manasprings to be better, to go farther.” Her husband will continue this mentorship in her memory.
Dr. Schuck is survived by her husband, L. Brent Manssen, and daughter, Sonia Schuck Manssen. A virtual memory book has been created for colleagues and friends to share their memories and reflections that were collected in anticipation of her retirement, view the book.
In honor of her lifelong commitment to building a global community of thoughtful leaders, donations may be made in her name to Manasprings Women’s Empowerment.
Join us at the MIT/CRE 40th Anniversary on June 21, 2025, as we honor Gloria’s legacy
*The delayed report of this very sad news is due to ensuring her family had ample time to reflect and approve the communications we share with our community. The Center had also been anticipating a release of this memorial in MIT News, but the timeline was getting pushed farther out. Thank you for your understanding.
