The Ricardo Medal is one of the highest recognitions for scholarly work in the real estate discipline. It recognizes a “person who has created a significant body of published research in academic and refereed professional journals, spanning at least two decades, that includes multiple important, influential writings in journals and/or books.”

Turnbull is the Jim Heistand-NAIOP Eminent Scholar Chair in Real Estate in the #Â鶹ԭ´´Business Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate. He currently teaches and researches real property markets, focusing on property rights issues in developed and developing countries, regulation effects on urban land use, and housing and real estate brokerage. Prior to joining the faculty, he was an economics professor at Georgia State University and the C.J. Brown Distinguished Professor of Real Estate at Louisiana State University.

Turnbull has published extensively in scholarly journals on a range of topics in real estate economics. He is a fellow of the Weimer School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Land Economics and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Urban Economics, Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and Journal of Housing Economics. Additionally, he advises local governments and firms and organizations in the business services, energy and hospitality industries.

Panelists included Marisa B. Price, CPM, senior vice president at Concord Management; Aaron Johnson, IREM student member at University of Wisconsin–Stout; Brad Randall, CPM candidate, co-owner of Welch Randall Property Management & Real Estate; and Aaron M. Bosshardt, CPM, president Bosshardt Property Management, LLC, AMO. Topics such as positions in property management, skills and education needed for entry-level positions, hurdles entry-level employees face, and tips on career advancement were discussed. IREM also provided five complimentary student registrations to attend the IREM Fall Leadership Conference.

More than 600 real estate management professionals from all over the world attended the conference on October 14-18 at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort.  During the conference, Â鶹ԭ´´ students had the opportunity to attend several education sessions, open committee meetings, and networking events. Students that registered for the conference also got the opportunity to participate in information interviews. During the 30 minute interviews, students were paired up with seasoned members to talk about property management and get career advice.

Established in 1968, the offers degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and executive levels. All programs, as well as the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting are accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

The college provides high-quality academic programs designed to give students a competitive advantage in the world of business now and in the future. As such, the college establishes partnerships with some of the nation’s most innovative leaders to model new and best practices that harness evolving technology. In addition, the college promotes a unique culture of engagement, risk-taking, cross-disciplinary collaboration and data-driven decision making in an effort to ensure students are well prepared to enter a dynamic marketplace.

The event was held in Kissimmee, Florida in August. The annual conference provides opportunities for businesses and individuals to network and form successful partnerships. More than 270 businesses attended the three-day conference. Companies such as Publix Super Markets, Walgreens, Gulf Coast Retail Broker Alliance, Marriott International, McDonald’s (Florida Region) and the Orlando Downtown Development Board were among those represented.

College of Business Administration students represented Â鶹ԭ´´ on the conference’s University Row, where students from Florida universities were able to network with brokers, developers and other business professionals of the state. In some cases students were even offered on-site job interviews.

The Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate at Â鶹ԭ´´ comprises multiple initiatives that strive to serve students, faculty and the community by delivering world-class education and leading research within the real estate industry. It focuses on two core objectives to achieve this: education and research. By providing students and faculty the opportunity to actively participate in local organizations, research and conferences, the Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate has established itself as having one of the top real estate programs in the nation.

“I hadn’t graduated from high school exactly,” he said. “And I hadn’t exactly graduated from Valencia College.”

Plaumann’s credentials simply lagged his accomplishments. An Orlando native who took summer courses in calculus and trigonometry for fun, he finished his high school’s three-year accelerated program in just two years. He then tested out of all the courses for his associate’s degree, and was only a year away from earning his bachelor’s degree by the time his high school and Valencia handed him diplomas in June 1973.

Today Plaumann is a managing member of Greyhawke Capital Advisors LLC, a Greenwich, Conn., firm that he co-founded. It controls several million square feet of real estate around the country. He chairs the audit committee of three public companies, is chairman of the board of a small private company, and serves as a trustee of the Eagle Hill School where his 14-year-old daughter, Margaux, attends. Married to Marilyn Wilson, he and family live in New York.

With all his success he remains grateful to Â鶹ԭ´´ for embracing his fast paced approach to academics. “I flew through the university because they bent over backwards for me,” he said.

He shows that gratitude with generous support of the university’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. His special interest is in science and technology startups, reflecting his lifelong love of science and engineering.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea for the university to combine disciplines to develop ideas for viable, new companies,” he said. “Stanford University has done an excellent job of that. So have the University of Texas Austin, and the Boston area with all its colleges and universities. Â鶹ԭ´´ could create the same sort of environment and take it to the big time. People could think of Â鶹ԭ´´ as the school that develops dynamic entrepreneurs who are discovering the next Google.”

Plaumann’s varied career has provided him with a broad view of what is possible. He was 18 years old when he joined Ernst & Ernst as the youngest employee of the then Big Eight public accounting firm’s Orlando office. He was still completing his bachelor’s degree.

Viewed as a prodigy, Plaumann was training for a prestigious assignment in the firm’s new consulting division when he decided he needed an MBA. Again he turned to Â鶹ԭ´´, studying at night to complete the degree in 1979.

Now, giving back to the university that named him to College of Business Administration Hall of Fame is an obligation he is happy to fulfill.

“I was the son of a manager of a Black and Decker store. My dad was the only one earning money in the family, and we weren’t wealthy by any means,” he said. “Â鶹ԭ´´ was flexible and affordable because I could live at home while I studied. And the education was rigorous. I am grateful for my career, and Â鶹ԭ´´ prepared me for the success I have had.”

The complimentary program will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the EDC, located at 36 Pine St. The event will feature a presentation by Charles Schnitzlein, an associate professor of finance in the Â鶹ԭ´´ College of Business Administration.

In addition to his presentation, administrators will be present to answer questions about the MSRE program, which was designed by the Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate for working professionals wishing to achieve senior-level positions in the industry.

The program provides graduates with the flexibility to pursue careers in commercial real estate brokerage and appraisal, real estate development, mortgage brokerage, investment management, capital markets, and asset management. The 30-credit-hour curriculum combines a unique business core consisting of finance, accounting and marketing courses with advanced coursework in real estate. Students earn Argus Software certification, and they will be well-prepared to obtain Florida Real Estate brokerage and appraisal licenses.  They will also be eligible to take the fast track to the CCIM designation upon graduation.

“MSRE’s cohort format helped me learn from gifted professors and perform team projects with experienced professionals. Student quality and cohort size prompted bonding that I neither expected nor found in undergraduate classes. As most students were from local industry, we were real-world competitors. But MSRE brought us together in an environment of teamwork and mutual respect,” said Quentin Caruso, vice president of Realty Capital Advisors, Inc. and graduate of the inaugural MSRE class of 2011.

Applications are now being accepted for the second class of the program, which begins in fall 2013. Classes will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the EDC. Students will go through the 20-month program as a cohort, taking all courses together.

The program is an initiative that enables graduates of select master’s programs from prestigious institutions of higher learning to become a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) at an accelerated pace. A CCIM is a recognized expert in commercial real estate and is among an elite corps of nearly 10,000 professionals in North America, Asia and Europe who has earned the CCIM designation. An additional 6,000 practitioners are pursuing the designation.

Through the program, qualified candidates may bypass CCIM’s CI 101 Financial Analysis, CI 102 Market Analysis, and CI 104 Investment Analysis courses that are generally required to earn the CCIM designation. Students need only to successfully complete CI 103 User Decision Analysis, eight hours of negotiations training, and an online ethics course. A portfolio of qualifying experience, which documents closed transactions and consulting assignments, must also be submitted and approved. The final step to earning the CCIM designation is passing a comprehensive examination.

Â鶹ԭ´´ is just one of 35 schools participating in the University Alliance Program. Our real estate students now have the opportunity to become part of the CCIM network of commercial real estate professionals and take advantage of the technology and business resources available to CCIMs.

Visit the CCIM Institute’s University Alliance Program to learn more about the program.

Though Orlando represents just 14 percent of Florida’s 7.2 million-person workforce, it accounts for 46 percent of the Sunshine State’s 44,000 new jobs in the latest monthly report. South Florida, home to 30 percent of the state’s workers, accounts for 44 percent of the new jobs.

Orlando’s muscular role in the recovery makes sense, given the tourism rebound that hit Florida well before other industries showed signs of life. But Orlando’s vitality also highlights Central Florida’s lead over South Florida when it comes economic growth, and why analysts increasingly look north for the Sunshine State’s next boom.

“Orlando’s position has risen compared to its peers,” Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner told reporters Thursday during his annual review of Florida’s economic outlook. “It’s certainly coming out ahead of the other large metropolitan areas in this recession.’’

Vibrant medical and technology sectors give Orlando bragging rights as economic development agencies across Florida try to supplement low-wage hospitality jobs with industries generating well-paying careers.

A new “Medical City” park tied to the Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s medical school is expected to jumpstart an already bustling $3 billion industry tied to bio research, according to the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Orlando’s strong video-game industry also supports a lucrative niche of combat simulation, pumping tens of millions of dollars worth of Pentagon contracts into Central Florida.

“The high-tech workforce in Orlando is growing,’’ said Chris Lafakis, who follows Florida’s economy for Moody’s.

South Florida boasts its own bio-medical hopes, most notably in the new Scripps research center in Palm Beach County, but also a University of Miami medical park under construction in the health district centered around Jackson Memorial.

And Orlando lacks the boost from foreign trade enjoyed by South Florida, where commerce tied to booming Latin American economies helped shield Miami-Dade from an even bigger downturn during the recession.

In the last 12 months, South Florida added 1,100 financial jobs compared to Orlando’s loss of 1,500, hints of a broader recovery, said Jaap Donath, vice president of research for the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s economic development agency.

“Companies are hiring,’’ Donath said. “They’re hiring across the board.’’

For all the talk of Central Florida’s diversifying its economy, theme parks continue to dominate. Eighty percent of the Orlando area’s new jobs in March came from the leisure and hospitality sector, compared to 41 percent in South Florida. (Healthcare was South Florida’s top growing industry, with 8,700 added positions.) A new Harry Potter park at the Universal Studios theme park opened last summer, boosting tourism and prompting more marketing by Disney and other rivals.

Part of Orlando’s comeback story stems from its David status compared to the Goliath of Miami. Along with having less than half the workers of the South Florida metropolitan area, the Greater Orlando’s $100 billion economy also is about 40 percent the size of South Florida’s $253 billion economy, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. The smaller the economy and the smaller the workforce, the easier it is to show big gains.

Between 2001 and 2009, Orlando’s economy grew 55 percent compared to South Florida’s 39 percent gain, according to the BEA. While no 2010 data is available yet, forecasters expect the trend to continue. By 2014, a Â鶹ԭ´´ forecast has Orlando’s economy up 31 percent compared to 16 percent growth for South Florida.

“Orlando is the most dynamic, and the strongest, economy in Florida,’’ said William Fruth, president of Policom, a financial research firm in Palm City, near Stuart. Policom ranks Orlando the 27th strongest metropolitan economy in the country, compared to No. 53 for South Florida, an area that includes Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Tourism will continue fueling both economies, but real estate factors favor Orlando’s growth. Situated in the center of the state, it faces none of the natural development boundaries squeezing South Florida.

South Florida’s coastal boundary also makes housing more expensive, in part thanks to the high cost of hurricane insurance and in part thanks to pure demand for vacation homes near the ocean. At the end of 2010, the median price for a Miami-Dade home ($191,000) was 45 percent higher than the median Orlando price ($131,000.)

“The Everglades are crimping you,’’ said economist Sean Snaith, who compiles the Â鶹ԭ´´ forecasts. “You’ve got nowhere to go.’’

Source: Miami Herald, Orlando pulling Florida out of recession, Florida’s economic slide reversed thanks to Miami and Orlando, though Central Florida is posting a stronger recovery, by Douglas Hanks, DHANKS@MIAMIHERALD.COM