As a new business student, David \u2018Dave\u2019 Wharmby \u201989 (BUS), \u201902 MBA took an introductory real estate course that changed his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessor Byrl Boyce was a very personable guy, with a dry sense of humor, who really wanted to make sure we understood the material,\u2019\u2019 Wharmby says. \u201cHe took some complex financial math and went over it again and again, until students really felt like they were masters of difficult material.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Wharmby was quickly “hooked” on real estate, took every course that Boyce taught, and enjoyed a rewarding, 30-plus years in the real estate industry.<\/p>\n
Now Wharmby has returned to UConn, as the Director of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies. He replaces Professor John Glascock, who retired this summer after 11 years at the helm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really thrilled to be back. It is the opportunity of a lifetime to come back to my alma mater,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cTo help create the next steps for the Center means so much to me.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Wharmby inherits an elite program, that is ranked third in the world for real estate \u00a0academic leadership, based on the strength of its faculty members\u2019 research. It is also ranked No. 14 for real estate programs, according to U.S. News & World Report<\/em>. Alumni are prominent leaders in commercial real estate in Hartford, Boston, New York, and beyond.<\/p>\n The Center prepares students for careers in commercial real-estate finance, teaching legal foundations and market analysis, cash-flow modeling and valuation, debt markets and portfolio management. Students meet industry leaders and alumni working in the field through numerous on-site presentations and internships. Graduates work in many types of real estate firms, including investment banking, valuation, equity investing, brokerage, rating agencies, development, finance and economic research.<\/p>\n Helping students excel in addressing pandemic-related challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n Although the pandemic has disrupted commercial real estate, including office space and shopping centers, the profession remains a vibrant and exciting career choice, Wharmby says. Students bring a nimble outlook that will be needed in the industry in years to come.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ll see a return to the office, but with much more emphasis on it being a gathering place, a communal social place for people from the same company,\u2019\u2019 Wharmby says. \u201cThe office will have to be a place that employees want to go to, a place that they\u2019ll miss when they work from home.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI think the evolving office will need to be a place where employees can find mentorship and employers can develop their company culture,\u2019\u2019 he continues. \u201cThe office of the future will create that connection. Smart investors are already recognizing that and moving toward the new office place.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n One of the advantages of the industry is that it welcomes newcomers who have a wide range of skills.<\/p>\n \u201cIn real estate, every project is unique and brings its own characteristics, challenges and opportunities. No two days are the same,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cIt also offers options for different skillsets. If you love numbers, there\u2019s something for you. If you lean toward sales, you can also thrive. Everyone can find a career here.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Wharmby earned two degrees from UConn<\/strong><\/p>\n Wharmby earned his bachelor\u2019s degree from the UConn Real Estate program in 1989 and an MBA in finance in 2002. As an alumnus, he always maintained a connection with the program.<\/p>\n He has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, most recently at Barings, a global investment manager, where he led the portfolio management and investment research for Real Estate Securities. He also previously worked for Cornerstone Real Estate. His expertise spans real estate finance, equity and securities. While he was primarily based in Hartford or Stamford, his work has taken him around the world. Hong Kong is his favorite home-away-from home with its vibrancy, great food and unique culture.<\/p>\n Wharmby says he is excited both about the energy of the students and the engagement and friendships that the UConn real estate community promotes.<\/p>\n \u201cLike any business, the last few years have been challenging because of the pandemic and we\u2019ve also had some retirements in the Center,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cMy immediate goal is to make sure we re-start and put everything back in place,\u2019\u2019 he said. He also plans to focus on student services and industry outreach and to work closely with the Center\u2019s faculty on their research aspirations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Industry veteran calls new role ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":190900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1862,2235],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-190899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-busn","category-today-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-01 10:13:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190899"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":191764,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190899\/revisions\/191764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/190900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190899"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=190899"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=190899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}