BRISTOL – Roger Williams University is launching a new interdisciplinary real estate program being offered at the university, and a former R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. executive director will lead the program.
RWU said the new program – to be led by Richard Godfrey – will integrate architecture, historic preservation, construction management, engineering, business and law. This program is among the first initiatives to launch from the university’s 2021 Strategic Action Plan, RWU said.
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The program, RWU said, will prepare students with sophisticated and broad learning needed to address challenging issues while developing expertise in various fields that are part of the real estate sector. Godfrey, set to begin his new role Feb. 22, will work with deans and faculty to develop undergraduate and graduate programming, RWU said. He will also develop executive educational programming, symposiums and seminars to address the most urgent problems the real estate industry is facing, such as sea level rise and adaptive reuse.
A graduate certificate program is expected to launch at RWU next academic year, the university said.
RWU President Ioannis Miaoulis said in a statement that the university, under Godfrey’s leadership, will play a vital role in the region and country in “developing a real estate approach guided by smart design and sustainable growth, prepared to address the most pressing issues of climate change and affordable housing.”
“I believe Roger Williams University can be a model for how to sustainably integrate the built and natural environments to create better communities for everyone. As a national housing advocate, it has been my passion and goal in life to create resilient communities with great homes,” Godfrey said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join RWU and to contribute to this exciting work.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
