According to Mark Riedy, director of the Institute, Ostrem and other committee members offer “guidance, opinions and support through ideas, encouragement and insight.”

The 20-member committee, consisting of working real estate professionals, focuses on residential real estate in the areas of curriculum development, programming and conferences, applied research projects and relationship building within the local and national real estate industry.

As the developer of EastLake -- a 3,200-acre master-planned community in eastern Chula Vista that at completion in five years will feature 9,000 homes and 4 million square feet of commercial/industrial development -- Ostrem brings to the committee vast experience in all areas of real estate development. Prior to joining The EastLake Co., Ostrem worked with Western National Properties in Orange County providing fee development for The Irvine Co. and earlier, he developed large apartment projects throughout Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina.

“It is a privilege to join this committee and I’m excited about helping the Institute become a regional focal point for education, research, information and career services in the areas of real estate, finance, urban economics and regional development,” said Ostrem.

Currently, there are more than 200 undergraduate and graduate students in six real estate classes, which range from basic principles to the finer points of commercial real estate. In addition to the student courses, the institute also hosts an annual real estate conference, which has become so popular that next year’s event is being moved from the campus to the San Diego Convention Center.

A long-term goal of the institute, according to Riedy, is to create a master’s program for real estate with an emphasis on regional development. He said he also would like to raise $10 million for a campus center that would house an array of undergraduate and post-graduate real estate programs.