Dominium, a national leader in affordable housing development, ownership, and management, has contributed $1.5 million to expand opportunities for teaching and learning at Morehouse College’s Real Estate Institute (MREI). The Institute was relaunched in the Fall 2024 Semester as part of a strategic initiative to create a pipeline of talent to help diversify the real estate industry.
Rising Morehouse Men and other students from across the Atlanta University Center can now enroll in the Institute’s expanded program, which features guest lectures by industry leaders, access to internships, and classes on the fundamentals of real estate, as well as the benefits of investing in commercial and residential properties to build wealth. The Institute will also be an instrument of research and social change that will prepare students for competitive jobs as leaders in real estate and as entrepreneurs.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 10% of real estate professionals are Black and 82% are White. For real estate brokers, who are typically higher paid and have other agents working under them, the gap widens to 5 percent for Black brokers. In commercial real estate management, less than 2 percent of C-level positions are held by Black males and 75% of executives in the industry are White men.
"Morehouse College is committed to breaking barriers that have limited the advancement of people of color pursuing careers in professions that lack diversity. It is part of our role as a social justice leader," said David A. Thomas, Ph.D., President of Morehouse College. "We are grateful to Dominium for its investment in this important work. We are looking forward to creating a long-term partnership that will help grow diversity in the real estate industry and increase equity within the ranks of management and ownership.”
The Morehouse Real Estate Institute (MREI) was developed by the Morehouse Division of Business and Economics to prepare rising Morehouse Men and Atlanta University Center students at Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University to maximize their potential for growth, entrepreneurship, and financial prosperity in the $47 trillion U.S. housing market and the $21 trillion commercial real estate market. The Institute also aims to improve diversity within the ranks of real estate management, a sector in which racial representation for people of color has been lagging for decades.
Dominium, which has a portfolio of more than 39,000 apartments and multi-generational communities in 19 states, has been in business for more than 50 years and is committed to improving diversity within its workforce and the real estate industry at large. The firm’s corporate values and DEI initiatives align with Morehouse’s Mission and focus on excellence, leadership, service, and social justice.
“Dominium is humbled and honored to partner with one of the nation’s preeminent Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Paul Sween, Dominium Senior Managing Partner. “Our contribution to the Morehouse Real Estate Institute is an investment in bright young men, in the college itself, in our communities and in the future of our industry.”
“We have seen firsthand the caliber of talented real estate professionals Morehouse produces, and we are thrilled to help accelerate that path for even greater numbers of young Black men,” added Mark Moorhouse, Dominium Managing Partner and Executive Vice President of Development.
Morehouse is the nation’s only historically Black liberal arts institute dedicated to the education and development of men. The College, which educates more than 2,500 students annually, is one of the only HBCUs to have an accredited and nationally acclaimed business program. Morehouse is also a top feeder school for Black men entering top-ranked MBA programs, and managerial and executive positions in business.
The expansion of MREI will increase career pathways within the Business and Economics Division, said Hodan Hassan, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Morehouse. It is already raising the division’s profile and driving new investment in the academic area. Since the launch of the institute was announced in April, MREI has received nearly $5 million in contributions from new donors, including Dominium’s gift.
“Thank you to our partners at Dominium for investing in the future of rising Morehouse Men,” said Hassan. “We look forward to your partnership as we work to create a premier academic program that builds career pathways to entrepreneurship and management in real estate for Morehouse and Atlanta University Center students who enroll in MREI classes.”
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