Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate joins Mendoza College of Business

The University of Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate (FIRE) has joined the Mendoza College of Business, giving the Institute a new academic home.

As a result of this change, FIRE has been reclassified as a College Institute instead of a University Institute, now reporting to Mendoza’s Office of the Dean rather than the Notre Dame Office of the Provost. The reclassification benefits FIRE, Mendoza and the University by aligning the Institute more closely with Mendoza’s faculty and academic programs while continuing its support of the world-class real estate education and research across the University.

“Real estate is a critically important topic of study for many academic disciplines, very much including business, as it sits at the intersection of finance, markets, the real economy, households and the common good of communities,” said Martijn Cremers, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business.

“Bringing the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate into the business school strengthens the Institute’s academic foundation and will create new opportunities for faculty research and collaboration across the University,” Cremers added. “The Institute will continue to serve faculty and students interested in real estate across the University, so that, accordingly, this change will better integrate the business school within the University.”

Founded to advance real estate education and research at Notre Dame, FIRE supports one of the University’s most popular academic offerings: the real estate minor offered through the Department of Finance at Mendoza, which in spring 2026 enrolled more than 500 undergraduate students from 28 majors across the University. The multidisciplinary program combines coursework in real estate finance, economics, architecture and other disciplines, and offers experiential learning opportunities and engagement with industry professionals.

The Institute also contributes to graduate business education at Mendoza, offering real estate courses and programming for Notre Dame MBA students interested in real estate investment, development and capital markets.

The research of FIRE’s affiliated faculty examines real estate markets, housing, finance and the built environment. Among them is Marco Giacoletti, associate professor of finance, whose research focuses on real estate finance, housing markets and mortgage securitization.

“Locating FIRE within Mendoza gives the Institute a natural academic home and connects our work more directly with faculty whose research intersects with real estate,” said Michael O’Malley, executive director of the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate. “It will help strengthen research collaborations, expand educational opportunities, create new opportunities for Notre Dame students to engage with professionals in the real estate industry, and allow the Institute to remain multidisciplinary.”

Beyond its academic programs, FIRE leads initiatives that examine important challenges related to land use, housing and community development.

The Institute’s Church Properties Initiative explores how churches and religious institutions can steward their land and buildings in ways that support both their mission and the needs of surrounding communities. Through research, convenings and collaboration with scholars and practitioners, the initiative examines issues such as adaptive reuse, land use and the sustainable development of faith-based property.

FIRE also advances research and dialogue on housing challenges through its Affordable Housing initiative, which brings together academics, policymakers and industry professionals to examine the structural causes of housing shortages and explore solutions to expand access to affordable housing.

FIRE will continue to support interdisciplinary research and partnerships across the University, including its ongoing partnership with Notre Dame’s College of Arts & Letters, School of Architecture and Law School.  Ongoing collaborations have also included joint faculty hires with the College of Arts and Letters and the development of study abroad courses offered by Eugenio Acosta, director of undergraduate programs for FIRE, along with faculty in Architecture.

Before the first home football game of each season, FIRE hosts FIREworks, its real estate career fair that brings leading firms to campus to connect with Notre Dame students interested in internships and full-time opportunities in real estate, as well as the FIRE Fall Kickoff, a one-day conference which welcomes hundreds of alumni back to campus to meet students and network with other real estate professionals.

“FIRE is proud to now be housed within Mendoza,” O’Malley said. “This change supports our vision of real estate serving as a powerful force for good. The move will accelerate stronger connections between our academic programs, faculty research and the real estate industry.