EUGENE, Ore. -- (Oct. 23, 2009) -Tony Ciochetti believes that real estate practice can improve the world. He has lectured and conducted research in United Arab Emirates, China, India, European countries and the U.S. to link sustainability with real estate development and improve real estate education. He will lecture on "Sustainability and its Role in Graduate Real Estate Education" at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, in 206 Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Blvd. The event is free and open to the public.

"Real estate constitutes approximately one-half of the world's wealth and consumes 40 percent of our energy resources. Yet little is known in the real estate industry about what role the asset class plays in the broader context of sustainability, "said Ciochetti, the 2009 Sommerville Lecturer sponsored by the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts. "This presentation will provide an overview of how the concept of sustainability relates to the traditional field of real estate education."

Tony Ciochetti specializes in the teaching and research of real estate finance and real estate development in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. He is the chairman and academic director of the MIT Center for Real Estate. The center's mission is to improve the global built environment through industry relevant research and to promote more informed professional practice.

"Sustainable communities and responsible land use development are deeply compatible. Ciochetti brings an international perspective prompting an obvious link between sustainability and global engagement," said Frances Bronet, dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. "These mirror two of the University of Oregon's interdisciplinary themes, known as Big Ideas, which are shaping the future academic priorities at UO."

Ciochetti received his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Oregon and both his master's and doctoral degrees in real estate and urban land economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Karen Johnson, AAA communications, 541-346-3603, karenjj@uoregon.edu
Source: Tony Ciochetti, Ph.D., MIT Center for Real Estate, 617-253-3988, tc@mit.edu
Links: http://web.mit.edu/cre, http://aaa.uoregon.edu
Photo: Tony Ciochetti, Ph.D., Thomas Eastman Chair, Center for Real Estate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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