The USC Ross Minority Program in Real Estate, an executive training program, has taught real estate fundamentals to hundreds of participants with the goal of increasing diversity among future leaders in the real estate industry. The program, which offers the skills needed to develop affordable housing, retail, mixed use, office, and community facilities in underserved communities, celebrated its 20th anniversary April 18 by honoring the legacy of benefactor Stan Ross.
The Ross Program 20th Anniversary Gala is part of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate’s ongoing endowment campaign to permanently preserve the Ross Minority Program in the name of Stan and Marilyn Ross.
20th Anniversary Gala
More than 600 real estate industry leaders gathered at the event, helping raise more than $1 million.
Ross, who is a Distinguished Fellow at the USC Price School of Public Policy and serves as Chairman of the Board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, has been a pillar of the real estate industry for decades, offering his expertise in executive positions at top real estate firms as well as in authoring the nation’s leading books on careers in real estate and accounting.
The Ross Minority Program in Real Estate was launched by USC and the Community Redevelopment Agency following the civil unrest in Los Angeles in 1992. In 2003, a gift from Stan and Marilyn Ross made the program a permanent institution at USC.
“This was an opportunity for me to help join together the urban needs and redevelopment in the inner-city with the education of minority groups, and further, to expand diversity within the real estate community,” Ross said.
A frequent lecturer for the program and various real estate courses, Ross’s creativity and brilliance inspire students, faculty and industry professionals, and his unwavering commitment to education has both directly and indirectly improved communities across the country.
“We have given a diverse group of students an opportunity to learn real estate and go back into the community, and get involved in real estate development in all product lines ranging from housing to retail and commercial,” added Ross. “Our alumni have built affordable housing in several states, senior housing, special facilities for the handicapped or abused, and they redeveloped neglected neighborhoods. We’re excited about what we’ve achieved over the past 20 years and as we look out into the future.”