Head Blackwood Department of Real Estate

Job Description

The Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech invites applications for the position of Head of the Blackwood Department of Real Estate. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a vibrant and growing academic unit that is looking to enhance our successes. This is a full-time, calendar-year appointment and will be tenured at the Associate Professor or Professor level, depending on qualifications.

Pamplin College of Business’ Blackwood Department of Real Estate draws on an interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty from the College of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Academic partners include Civil and Environmental Engineering, Property Management, Smart and Sustainable Cities and other departments in the Pamplin College of Business. The Real Estate curriculum provides students with broad knowledge from the initial vision of a real estate asset through disposition, and students double major or select strong minors to add depth and specialization to their education.

The Head will lead a growing department with a strong national reputation. The BS in Real Estate started in the Fall of 2013 with four first-year students and now has nearly 400 majors and about 150 minors. Within Real Estate, students can choose to major in Real Estate for Commercial real estate or Real Estate for Residential Properties. Since inception, the academic program has been growing in national recognition:

#1 Best Bachelor's in Real Estate, Bachelor's Degree Center (2022)

#3 Best Real Estate Degree Program, Great Business Schools (2020)

#4 Most Popular Real Estate Schools, College Factual (2021)

#5 Best Real Estate Bachelor's Degree, College Factual (2023)

In addition to the Head, the department has three tenure-track faculty, four teaching faculty (Professor of Practice and Collegiate ranks), and four professional staff. The tenure-track faculty started their positions in the 2023-24 academic year and bring excellent credentials to build and expand the department’s research program.

The Blackwood family endowed the program with a $10 million gift in 2021. This inertia provides a unique opportunity to lead the future growth of the department in alignment with the goals of the Pamplin College of Business and Virginia Tech. More information about the department can be found at: https://realestate.vt.edu/.

The Blackwood Department of Real Estate is one of seven departments within the Pamplin College of Business with the other departments being: Accounting and Information Systems, Business Information Technology, Finance, Insurance and Business Law, Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Management, and Marketing. The head will join an innovative and collaborative leadership team within the college, and partner with the dean, other heads, and other members of the college leadership team to strengthen and advance the reputation of the department, the college, and the university. More information about the college can be found at: https://pamplin.vt.edu/.

The head will have a commitment to experiential learning and interdisciplinary academic and research programs, and a desire to grow graduate real estate education in the department in collaboration with other units in the college.

A deep commitment to diversity is fundamental to the appointment. Pamplin faculty, through their research, teaching, and service, contribute to the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts of the college and the Virginia Tech community. A willingness to work collegially and collaboratively with faculty and staff of diverse backgrounds is necessary.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in real estate or related discipline from an accredited institution. Equivalent foreign degrees are acceptable.

• An active and nationally/internationally recognized research program with an established record of publications in top-tier real estate journals. The following real estate journals are listed as elite by the Pamplin College of Business:

o Journal of Housing Economics

o Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics

o Journal of Real Estate Research

o Real Estate Economics

o Regional Science and Urban Economics

o Other Pamplin elite journals can be found here: https://pamplin.vt.edu/faculty-and-staff-resources/policies-and-procedures.html.

Additional Information

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law. 

Applying for this Position

To be considered for this position, all applicants must apply via the VT Careers site and submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and a list of three references. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Please apply online at https://careers.pageuppeople.com/968/cw/en-us/job/528409/blackwood-department-head-of-real-estate.