Richard Peiser

Biography: Richard B. Peiser, Ph.D., was appointed the first Michael D. Spear Professor of Real Estate Development in the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Graduate School of Design of Harvard University. He joined Harvard in 1998 after being on the faculty at the University of Southern California since 1986, where he served as director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate Development, and Academic Director of the Master of Real Estate Development Program, a program he founded in 1986. At Harvard, he founded and co-directs the Advanced Management Development Program, and coordinates the other executive education programs in real estate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). In addition, he founded the university-wide Real Estate Academic Initiative (now the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board). He is also co-Chair of the Master of Design Studies Program in Real Estate at GSD. He teaches real estate development and finance as well as field studies on complex urban development. His primary research has focused on developing an understanding of the response of real estate developers to the marketplace and to the institutional environment in which they operate, particularly in the areas of urban redevelopment, affordable housing, and suburban sprawl. The Urban Land Institute published the third edition of his book, Professional Real Estate Development: The ULI Guide to the Business (2012). Professionally, he has developed affordable housing in Texas and California as well as land and industrial properties. From 2004-2007, he served as a founding partner of the China Real Estate Investment Company (CREI) and its Shanghai-based subsidiary, Kailong REI Project Investment Shanghai, investing institutional capital in real estate projects in China’s major cities. Dr. Peiser was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Dallas. He received his BA from Yale University, his M.B.A from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Land Economy from Cambridge Univers