UIC Business announces the Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Business Administration announces the opening of its fifth academic department.

The Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate joins the accounting, finance, information and decision sciences and managerial studies departments in serving the college’s more than 3,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students.

The opportunity to establish the department would not be possible without the tremendous generosity of Stuart Handler, CEO of TLC Management Co., an award-winning, full-service Chicagoland leasing and management company. Handler’s monetary donation to the progression of UIC Business and its students is the second highest ever received by the college and the second named department on campus.

“I want to give people in Chicago and at UIC — a population that largely comes from families who have immigrated to this country — a chance to have a stake in the real estate in their neighborhoods,” Handler said. “This a great opportunity for graduates of the department to find jobs in this vital industry.”

“We are grateful to Stuart for his generous support of UIC and the College of Business Administration, which continues to evolve to meet the demands of business and serve the needs of all of its students,” UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis said. “The addition of the department that bears his name is an exciting contribution to our mission to serve the city and its students, as well as our efforts to build a more entrepreneurial university for the future.”

At UIC Business, expert faculty provide a real-world education to meet the challenges of today’s business environment, and its 37,000-strong alumni network offers valuable support and connections for undergraduate and graduate students.

“In today’s demanding and ever-changing business environment, our goal is to prepare our students with innovative curriculum and world-class faculty instruction for the challenges they will face in their careers,” said Michael Mikhail, dean of the College of Business Administration. “With the addition of the Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate, UIC Business students gain a solid academic foundation leading to exciting career opportunities.”

Following the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and Illinois Board of Higher Education approval, hiring of new faculty took place in the spring 2020 semester.

Daniel McMillen, UIC professor of finance, has been selected to lead the new department. He is also a distinguished fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and a consultant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. McMillen has published extensively in leading real estate journals, and is a former president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association and a recipient of the Regional Science Association’s prestigious Walter Isard Award for Scholarly Achievement.

Future plans for the department include a bachelor of science major and minor as well as the potential resurrection of a specialized master’s degree.

“Mr. Handler’s transformational gift directly answers many of our IGNITE: The Campaign for UIC aims, including redefining student success, recruiting and retaining prominent faculty and defining the place where access and excellence converge,” said Tom Wamsley, vice chancellor for advancement. “Mr. Handler’s generous funding will allow the college, already a top undergraduate business school in Chicago, to raise its scholarly profile and attract a diverse population of future leaders who will power the future.”