The watch words of the FGCU's Lutgert College of Business (LCOB) are: Connected, Innovative, Accountable, and Sustainable. The connection with the business community has been a powerful driver behind the LCOB's success. The Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development and Finance is a prime example of this connection in action. Funded by generous support from David and Linda Lucas and other industry leaders, the Lucas Institute makes possible academic and non-academic programming related to real estate development and finance. The Institute is hosted within the Center for Leadership and Innovation (CLI), the LCOB's outreach to the business community and economic development in the region. Through the involvement of an advisory council and participants from the real estate Industry, the Institute draws on the extensive expertise of industry leaders thereby facilitating practical and theoretical student learning in the incredible real estate development and finance laboratory that exists in South Florida. The combination of these assets with nationally recognized faculty provides an unsurpassed learning opportunity for our students thereby "empowering the future of business" in the region.

Dr. Hudson Rogers
Dean of Business

FGCU's Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance is uniquely positioned to deliver academic programs of the highest possible quality. The support of the business community for our efforts, highlighted by the generous gift from David and Linda Lucas, is unwavering. The programs that we are developing blend outstanding academic instruction with insights that can only be obtained from industry executives who have extensive experience in the complex process of real estate development. The result will be nationally recognized programs that prepare our graduates for the wide range of challenges they will face in this increasingly competitive industry.

Dr. H. Shelton Weeks
Academic Program Director
Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance