Faculty Q+A: Austin J. Jaffe, Department of Insurance and Real Estate

Name: Austin J. Jaffe

Positions: Chair, Department of Insurance and Real Estate, Director, Smeal Office of International Programs, and the Philip H. Sieg Professor of Business Administration

Education: Ph.D., University of Illinois, 1978; M.S., University of Illinois, 1975; B.S., University of Illinois, 1974

Links: 

University Biography

Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS Biography

The World Bank Biography

Where are you from?

I grew up on the south side of Chicago.

You had all of your post-high school education at the University of Illinois. What kept bringing you back?

I tried to get away, really! but I was given an opportunity to teach as a TA during my M.S. program. Then I was granted a university fellowship to stay for a Ph.D. I was poor, needed the money, and fit well into their program.

How did you end up at Penn State? What teaching/work did you do prior to coming here?

  I was invited for a one-year visiting teaching position in 1980. I was an assistant professor at the University of Oregon at the time, and my wife and I completely expected to return to Eugene. We unexpectedly decided to stay at PSU in 1981 and have been here ever since. We have had good opportunities to depart over the years but remained a part of Smeal. We have been fortunate to have had sabbatical leaves and other visiting appointments at many sites including institutions in Sweden, Holland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, and most recently, Italy. I was also fortunate to receive a Fulbright Chair in Eastern Canada in 2001.

What courses are you currently teaching, and what is your research?

I teach in two areas: real estate finance, investment, and economics, and the economics of urban property rights. I try to make my classes have an international flavor. As far as research, I am especially interested in the effects of legal and other institutions on real estate markets in the U.S. and elsewhere.

If your students could only take one lesson away from your teachings, what would it be?

It is very important to build human capital in one’s field of interest.

In layman\’s terms, what are the best and worst things someone could do in today\’s real estate market?

Best: We are living through an extraordinary period when many myths and misconceptions have resulted in new realities so we need to learn from this dramatic new environment. Worst: Failure to learn from the changed environment.

You have quite an extensive and impressive background. If you can choose, of what accomplishment are you proudest?

Thanks for the compliment! Here are a few candidates: Some have said we changed the field of real estate investment with a textbook my co-author and I wrote early on (in 1982). Also, I am proud that we have brought this field forward through international conferences and connections over the past 20 years. I am also proud to have been able to mentor young domestic and international academics.

You\’ve been here for nearly 30 years now. Outside of your university position, what is the most appealing part of the area?

Very low commuting costs, clean air and water, and a solid academic community in which we live, play, and have raised two children.