Stan Ross has been working for about five years to boost the presence of minorities in the real-estate industry, who, in turn, will revitalize inner-city neighborhoods. Now, the retired vice chairman of Ernst & Young LLP, who managed the firm's real-estate advisory group, and his wife, Marilyn, have donated $1 million to a program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles that aims to do just that.
USC's minority real-estate training program is a two-week summer course covering a wide range of topics -- from financing to land use. A total of about 30 students with bachelor's or graduate degrees and business experience are selected each year. Mr. Ross, who is chairman of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate, teaches students about capital markets, company structures, financing and taxes. This year, about 80 people applied to the program. Most applicants are real-estate brokers or small developers. Others are looking to make the transition into development.
The $1 million donation will be used to fund scholarships for students who need help with the $3,200 tuition, as well as expand the program by setting up a winter session and eventually opening up the programs to more students.
"It's important that we educate minorities from inner-city neighborhoods and others interested in minority communities so they can go back to those communities and help invigorate and revitalize them," says Mr. Ross, the son of Russian immigrants who grew up living in a tenement in the Bronx.