FIU creates the Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate

FIU has partnered with South Florida developer Tibor Hollo and his wife Sheila to create the Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate in the College of Business. Built on the foundation of the existing real estate program, the school honors a gift from the Tibor & Sheila Hollo Foundation.

“We are honored that through the establishment of the Hollo School, Mr. and Mrs. Hollo have made this important commitment to the expansion of FIU’s real estate education, “ said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “We look forward to a relationship that benefits our university, our community, and the next generation of Miami’s business leaders.”

Tibor Hollo, president of Florida East Coast Realty (FECR), is considered the architect of modern Miami, having built the first building on Brickell Avenue. Hollo has made his mark by advocating and developing innovative projects that emphasize living, working and playing in the urban core. Since its founding nearly 60 years ago, FECR has been involved in the development of 60 million square feet of residential, commercial, retail, and industrial space, with landmark projects from New York to Nevada and throughout Florida.

“Real estate is a dynamic profession, one that challenges our best minds to explore how to use our limited resources to finance and create useful, exciting places to live and work,” Tibor Hollo said. “I am grateful that Florida International University embraces this challenge in its real estate program, and I am proud of our new association. I look forward to ongoing progress in the study of real estate, guided by the outstanding scholars at FIU.”

The Hollo foundation gift will be used to support FIU real estate faculty, academics and programming. The program now has three full-time faculty members and 139 students in its graduate, undergraduate, dual-degree and online degree programs.

“The Hollos are true visionaries,” said Joyce Elam, executive dean of FIU’s College of Business. “By establishing the Hollo School, they will help ensure the growth of our real estate program. We anticipate great advances thanks to the guidance of an exceptional pioneer and true role model.”

The Hollo School’s graduate program, the Master of Science in International Real Estate (MSIRE), is offered at FIU Downtown on Brickell, the university’s recently expanded, 60,000 square foot facility in the heart of downtown Miami at 1101 Brickell.  In Fall 2012, the college initiated an online version of MSIRE, which recently became the first AACSB-certified online graduate program in real estate in the nation. FIU also offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in real estate, with classes offered at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus and other locations.