Chicago financier and real estate titan Samuel Zell donated $10 million to the Wharton School to endow its Real Estate Center, allowing it to expand its current programs and research projects. The donation, announced last month, topped off a record-breaking year in fundraising for Wharton, which raised more than $50 million in new gifts in 1997. As a result of the gift, Wharton renamed the center -- which was founded in 1983 -- the Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton. "I think the Real Estate Center is the leading light in a revolution occurring in the real-estate industry," Zell said. "I'm pleased to be able to help the center operate at the highest level." Robert H. Lurie, who died in 1990 at the age of 48, was Zell's business partner and friend for 30 years. Lurie's son, Andrew, is a College sophomore and photography editor-elect of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Zell, who did not attend Wharton, said he has been a "supporting member" of the Center for many years. He said he knows Center Director Peter Linneman, as well as the "quality of [the Center's] work." Zell has participated in a number of the Center's real estate conferences and seminars. Most recently, he spoke at a conference last spring. In addition to promoting and funding real estate education and research, the Center helps develop the curriculum offered by Wharton's Real Estate department. The school's graduate program has been ranked No. 1 in the country by U.S. News and World Report for the past seven years. Linneman, a Real Estate professor, said in a statement that the donation will enable the Center to "maintain its leadership position in real estate education, outreach and research for years to come." "The Center at Wharton will stand as a tribute to Mr. Zell's vision, dedication, and commitment to the professionalization of the real estate industry," Linneman said. Zell said his $10 million gift has been "percolating" since last fall. Although officials have yet to decide exactly how they will use the funds, Zell said his gift will "endow programs and research." The Center, for example, plans to increase the number of full-time, non-faculty researchers from one to three as a result of the grant. The Center will also use funds from the gift to publish an annual industry review paper. It currently publishes the Wharton Real Estate Review, a semi-annual journal of research throughout the country. Zell owns more than 110 office properties and 16 parking garages across the country. He founded the Equity Office Properties trust, the nation's largest real estate investment trust. Last August, the trust invested $144.7 million to buy 1.01 million square feet of office space in the Philadelphia suburbs of Conshohocken, King of Prussia, Plymouth Meeting and Wayne. Zell is also the chairperson of the apartment real estate investment trust Equity Residential Properties. His non-real estate holdings include a supermarket chain and a steamship line.
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