St. Thomas University Creates Real Estate Hall of Fame

Soon, there will also be a hall of fame for Minnesota real estate pros.

The head of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas has created the Minnesota Real Estate Hall of Fame to recognize Minnesotans who have been innovators and successful leaders in the field.

The Hall of Fame idea is also the latest in the Shenehon Center’s attempts to establish itself as a storehouse of real estate knowledge; earlier this year; the center established the Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Survey and Index; a sort of biannual “consumer confidence” survey of decision-makers in the sector.

“Creating the Minnesota Real Estate Hall of Fame gives UST the ability to honor; preserve and perpetuate the outstanding accomplishments of men and women in real estate,” said Herb Tousley. “We just want to give people an award that would recognize their achievement over a long period of time.”

The Shenehon Center plans to honor two to four inaugural Hall of Fame members at an induction ceremony Oct. 27, at Schulze Auditorium on St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus. Tony Downs, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., will be the featured speaker.

“We are very excited about it, “Tousley said.

Tousley said he and a group of his St. Thomas real estate professors came up with the idea last fall after searching for something that could be a signature event at St. Thomas’ real estate center.

“When we started looking around, there were a lot of groups doing a real estate person of the year but there really wasn’t a real estate hall of fame,” Tousley said.

In June, the St. Thomas Real Estate Advisory Board received 17 nominees for the Real Estate Hall of Fame and is now reviewing that list, he said.

“The basic criterion for acceptance into the Hall of Fame is that an inductee will have an outstanding business performance coupled with a high standard of ethics and sense of community.” Tousley said.