Citation
Worzala, E. (2024), "Eulogy: Dedication to Andrew (Drew) Sanderford (7 October 1982–31 August 2023)", Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 323-324. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-07-2024-231
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited
Dedication to Andrew (Drew) Sanderford (7 October 1982–31 August 2023)
Drew Sanderford was an inspiration to so many in the real estate community, as he was not afraid to bring his unique set of skills to the table and teach us all new things. I watched him join a research team of economists and finance specialists, and he was often the one asking the bigger, and in many cases harder, questions. Always trying to ascertain the implications of the findings, the public policy impacts and how the findings could be used to create a better built environment for all to enjoy. So many of our elegant models these days assume things away to make it easier to use the data, run the model and produce statistically significant findings. I know I am a bit of a cynic here, but I feel like researchers today are often doing the research not to move the field forward but to place their work in a “good” journal so they can keep their jobs and be promoted. Drew was the kind of researcher that would ask the bigger questions. He would go the extra mile to bring in a new and messy dataset and/or a different modeling tool or technique that might explain the markets and/or the findings better. He was a multi-disciplined, multi-faceted individual. Some might classify him as a Renaissance person.
He was also a caring and incredibly warm person with a strong sense of humor that could brighten your day. He seemed to have a unique radar when he walked into a room, actively looking for someone who could use some attention or maybe feeling ill at ease since they were new to the organization. He would bring them into the discussion, finding ways for them to contribute and be part of the conversation. When he talked to you, he focused on you, and you knew he was listening. He was intent on trying to help you with whatever problems you were facing on a given day. It did not have to be all business; in fact, he seemed equally interested in your personal life as your professional research. Rarely turning the spotlight on himself, he made you feel like you were contributing to the conversation and that you were one of the smartest in the room. I never had the pleasure of being in his classroom, but I am sure he was an excellent teacher as well. When we lost Drew so unexpectedly early last year, we not only lost a leading light in real estate education and research, but we also lost a friend, mentor, engaging colleague and mentee. It is hard for me to write that word, mentee. As he is the first mentee that I have lost in my career, the adjustment has been more difficult than I ever imagined it could be. I have lost numerous mentors, including Jim Graaskamp, Bill Kinnard and Marc Louargand, among others, whom I have written about in this journal. But to lose a mentee who was entering the prime of his academic career has been a real shock to my system.
It’s not supposed to happen in this order. He is supposed to mourn his elders, like me (although I don’t want to admit I am an elder!). I am now getting a better sense of how devastating it is to lose a child. Drew was not my actual student, but I met him as a student through the doctoral programs sponsored by the Real Estate Research Institute (RERI) and the American Real Estate Society (ARES). I had taken him under my wing at both of the conferences that year, and I was proudly introducing him to these two organizations. I met him at the RERI in May, and I chose him as my mentee for the following ARES meetings because I found him so interesting and engaging and loved his unique background as a planner. I have enjoyed watching Drew as he grew in confidence from being a doctoral student who was a minority in his background and training to his first academic position at the University of Arizona as a junior professor and eventually taking on the leadership role of Center Director to his most recent prestigious appointment at the University of Virginia.
At this last stop, he was the Director of the Center for Real Estate and the Built Environment and the Robert M. White Professor in Real Estate Finance. He was so excited to lead the program at UVA. It was his alma mater for two degrees and the town he grew up in. He was building a program to rival many of the household names of real estate education in the USA, and I believed he had a great shot at being one of the best programs because he was bringing “the secret sauce.” He was multidisciplinary, like my own mentor, Jim Graaskamp. He had a postdoc in housing research, a doctorate in planning focused on housing, a master’s in urban and environmental planning focused on development and his original liberal arts degree in history. It is clear to me that the center had its stamp of approval, as its stated mission “is to enhance the quality of the built environment and our understanding of its influence on all aspects of our lives through discovery and debate relating to the art and science of real estate.” He also clearly enjoyed the great outdoors and had a passion for conservation and sustainability initiatives. His most recent work, including a paper in this journal, has been focused on this important and growing body of literature.
Many of us are connected to this journal because it is focused on the world just as Drew focused on the world. The articles published here have to have strong motivation, make sense and help professionals solve real estate problems. When Drew was asked to be on the editorial board of the Journal of Property Investment & Finance, he was excited to be invited. Its focus on commercial real estate and the multidisciplinary nature of real estate were draws for him. This journal was a great fit for him, and I know he would have enjoyed working on it for years to come.
We have lost a rare academic, researcher and colleague. One who cares more about the issues than his scholarly reputation and more about others than himself. I will miss his warm smile and friendly embrace. And I will also miss not having the opportunity to watch him excel as a scholar and a teacher, as I believe his work will have an impact on future scholars for years to come. I encourage you to read some of his work, as I know you will come away much wiser for it.