Author, apartment investor and retired aerospace engineer Pam Scamardo is the new director of Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Real Estate, which supports real estate education, training and networking for Titan students and members of the community. Scamardo’s personal journey includes financial independence through real estate investing and a wealth of industry connections, which empowers CSUF’s real estate program as it becomes the largest and strongest in the state.

Over a decade, Scamardo became one of the region’s most well-connected women real estate professionals, beginning with a board membership with Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), which represents females in the industry.

Scamardo is the author of Create Wealth: How You Can Ditch the 9-5 Job with Multifamily Investing, a 2022 book focused on the alternative career path available to today’s real estate professionals.

Enhancing the CSUF Real Estate Program

Scamardo will focus on three main initiatives within the Center for Real Estate:

First, there are plans to have a real estate major or minor in place for students by next year – or perhaps as early as fall 2023.

Second, Scamardo plans to elevate Cal State Fullerton’s stature in real estate-related thought leadership.

“We want to elevate our faculty’s research and activities that provide a value to the industry. Or perhaps we can collaborate with our faculty on ideas for new studies,” she explains. “For instance, right now, everyone is awaiting a recession that is projected to hit, and we can work on thought leadership on the impacts on real estate.”

Third, Scamardo hopes to broaden the Center for Real Estate’s community engagement.

“We plan to introduce our students to the companies in the area and provide training, workshops and internships, and host real estate events and panels to stay on the forefront of what we see in the pipeline for both the commercial and residential sectors,” she says.

As an example, Scamardo points to promoting the center’s ARGUS training program, which enables real estate-focused CSUF students to learn this vital real estate management software before graduation, giving them an advantage when seeking positions with companies.

Working with community partners – both individuals and companies – Scamardo hopes to offer multiple real estate-focused student scholarships in the next academic year and beyond, while growing the center’s endowment fund to make future programs and initiatives possible. It is a reasonable expansion considering Orange County has more than 7,000 real estate companies.

In addition to providing perspective at economic forecast events, Scamardo is working with Lingxiao Li, a finance professor and author of several published real estate research studies, on reestablishing the annual Commercial Real Estate Forum, which historically brought together Southern California real estate executives to discuss industry trends.

For More Information

Are you a Cal State Fullerton student considering real estate in your career future? Or a real estate professional seeking the networking, peer insights and access to intern talent that CSUF provides?

If so, learn all about what the Center for Real Estate provides.

For more information, reach out to [email protected].