Essays in Honor of James A. Graaskamp: Ten Years After

Book excerpt: As the title indicates, Essays in Honor of James A. Graaskamp: Ten Years After, is a collection of essays written to honor Graaskamp's major contributions to the field of real estate education and practice over the course of three decades. Upon his death in 1988, the industry lost a major influence for advancing the real estate discipline, both as an academic field and a professional field. The authors in this volume seek to extend Graaskamp's contributions and move the real estate discipline forward. The papers address the challenges posed by the market to return our attention to real estate fundamentals, and to strike a proper balance between Main Street and Wall Street. The authors and editors hope that this book will influence the industry to incorporate many of Grasskamp's ideas into mainstream real estate education and practice. Over the course of his career, Graaskamp made many noteworthy contributions to real estate theory and practice, ideas that if resurrected could offset some of the pressure in the industry to move away from market fundamentals. The authors try to capture the essence of Graaskamp's messages, and intend that the papers serve as a point of departure for discussing the future role and nature of real estate education. Part I focuses on the major contributions to the real estate discipline made by Graaskamp and the Wisconsin Real Estate Program. Part II contains some personal recollections and photos of Graaskamp, and also a summary of the groups that make up the Wisconsin Real Estate Program, a major co-sponsor of this volume. The rest of the book's three main parts are structured around major topics that reflect the multidisciplinary nature of real estate as espoused by Graaskamp. Part III treats real estate feasibility and development, Part IV concentrates on real estate valuation, and Part V discusses institutional economics.