News and Events
CCU celebrates Grant Center's new location with ribbon-cutting ceremony
December 7, 2018
Conway, SC -- Coastal Carolina University’s Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. The ribbon was cut by Anthony P. Grant, the donor after which the center is eponymously named.
Remarks were given by Barbara A. Ritter, Ph.D., dean of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration; David A. DeCenzo, Ph.D., president of Coastal Carolina University; Robert F. Salvino, Ph.D., director of the Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics; and Grant.
During his comments, Grant said the goal of the center is to be recognized worldwide as a leading center of learning for the real estate profession, saying the future is very bright.
“In three short years, the University has become an academic member of the International Real Estate Federation and a recognized supporter of the International Ethics Standard Coalition,” he said. “CCU students have already visited real estate projects and professional organizations in Rome, Milan, Barcelona, London and Paris.”
Since its inception, the center has also launched the annual Real Estate Awards and created a real estate club open to students and members of the business public. This year’s Real Estate Awards ceremony was held prior to the ribbon cutting.
“Everything that Coastal continues to accomplish would not be possible without the steadfast support of this community and our many generous donors,” said DeCenzo during the ceremony. “Murrells Inlet residents Tony and Carrie Grant, who established the Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics, are an excellent example of this support.”
Representatives from the four chambers of commerce of which CCU is a member were also in attendance: Conway Area, Myrtle Beach Area, North Myrtle Beach and Georgetown County. Following the ribbon cutting, guests were invited to tour the newly renovated center, which is now located in Room 107 of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University. The center offers a working space and project lab for students in economics, finance and commercial and investment real estate, as well as students in associated fields, including the GIS certificate program in the anthropology and geology department.
“None of this would have been possible without the Grants, whose donation in 2016 launched the center and has led to the establishment of a physical, permanent location that we are opening today,” said Salvino.
The center is directly associated with the commercial and investment real estate minor in the university’s Wall College of Business and offers multiple opportunities for both students and professionals in the community, such as technical tours and training workshops.
An eye-catching mural that spans the length of the hallway leading to the entrance of the Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics appropriately captures the focus of the center in commercial real estate. Inside the center, a prominent photo of the Canary Wharf hangs as a symbolic link between Grant’s real estate career in London to the opening of this real estate center at Coastal Carolina University.
To further exemplify its ties with the professional community, each of the four chambers of commerce will return to the Coastal Carolina campus in the upcoming semester to partner with the Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics for speaking and networking events that aim to bring CCU students and the professional community members together.
ABOUT THE GRANT CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE AND ECONOMICS
The Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics serves students and professionals engaged in all facets of real estate and economic development and provides market analysis, study-based scholarships, networking opportunities, internships and technical study tours of international sites.
The Grant Center leverages global ties to Coastal Carolina University and key partners, including students, alumni, faculty, staff and board members. It offers courses in commercial and investment real estate, publishes scholarly research and produces applied studies for stakeholders in the region. The Center also hosts an annual Economic Growth & Real Estate Summit, provides seminar talks on a regular basis and consults for various private, government and nonprofit groups.
The Center’s key mission is to support the education of its students to the highest levels of competence and professionalism and to broaden the economic base of the region, serving as a bridge between Coastal Carolina University and the wider community.
For more information, please contact Hattie Jordan, Program Assistant of the Grant Center, at hajordan@coastal.edu
Follow the Grant Center on Social Media @GrantCenterCCU.
