By Greg Hardesty
As program director of the Wilbur H. Smith III Smith Department of Real Estate at USC’s Price School of Public Policy, Professor Mary Lynne Boorn wanted to find more ways for alumni to connect – both with the program and with each other.
When USC Trustee and longtime USC Lusk Center Advisory Board member Daniel Epstein gifted $100,000 to the Dollinger Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program in 2022 following the death of distinguished alumnus Dan McFarland “Mac” Chandler (MRED ’93), a family friend, Boorn seized the opportunity.
“When this gift happened, I thought, ‘This could be a wonderful start,’” Boorn said.
That start led to the inaugural Chandler Dinner in June 2024, a gathering of MRED alums designed to solidify connections that last – and to continue to raise money for future graduates.
On Sept. 19, 2025, some 115 MRED alums attended the second-annual Chandler Dinner. A reunion dinner will be held next year ahead of a larger MRED alum gathering in 2027 to mark the program’s 40th anniversary.
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Find Out More“It was a great event, and really fun to see members of the different graduating classes spend time together,” Boorn said of this year’s event, held in the USC Town and Gown Ballroom on USC’s campus. “The energy was definitely palpable, and many saw it as a great reason to come back to campus.”
Attendees at the September dinner contributed $21,000 to the MRED reunion fund, an amount Epstein pledged to match, bringing the fund total to more than $160,000.
The funds will be used to sustain and grow annual reunion events, including the Chandler Reunion Dinner, expand professional development initiatives for alumni and students, and strengthen networking opportunities across MRED classes and the broader real estate industry.
“I think it really speaks to how incredible our alumni community is,” Boorn said of the $21,000 raised at this year’s dinner. “Everyone wants to be involved, asking what they can do to help the program.”
For the first two Chandler Dinners, the incoming cohort of MRED students – they total about is 40 full- and part-time enrollees a year – attended with recent graduates, as well as alums marking milestone graduation anniversaries of every five years.
All MRED grads – they now number around 1,500 — will be invited to the 40th anniversary celebration in 2027.
Prominent MRED Alumni Clare De Briere (‘97) and Kristina Raspe (’09) are serving as co-chairs of the reunion fund through its 40th anniversary. The goal by then is to have the fund reach $1.5 million.
Sponsors for this year’s dinner were Epstein, a lifetime benefactor sponsor; benefactor sponsors Dollinger Properties, which is run by David Dollinger, who gave the naming gift to MRED; Kristina and Steve Raspe; and gold sponsor De Briere.
“MRED has always been such a foundational program for Price and for real estate,” Boorne said.
Visit the USC Chandler MRED reunion fund giving link.
