Kevin Boyle named Willis Blackwood Real Estate Director

2 Apr 2019

Kevin Boyle, director of Virginia Tech’s Program in Real Estate in the Pamplin College of Business and professor of agricultural and applied economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been named the Willis Blackwood Real Estate Director by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The Willis Blackwood Real Estate Directorship was established in 2018 by Willis Blackwood ’72 and Mary Nolen Blackwood ’73 to promote the university’s Program in Real Estate and support the highest caliber academic leader for the program. The Blackwoods have supported the program since its inception in 2013.

Willis Blackwood, who earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration, is co-chair of the Program in Real Estate Industry Advisory Board. In 2014, the couple endowed the Willis and Mary Blackwood Junior Faculty Fellowship.

“Mary and I are honored that Kevin will be named the first Willis Blackwood Real Estate Director,” Willis Blackwood said. “His capable leadership, foresight, and dedication to the program are reflected in its growth from inception to current student enrollment. We expect him to lead the program to further heights and national recognition.”

A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2005, Boyle was named the founding director of the Program in Real Estate in 2012.

An active and successful researcher, Boyle received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He has been awarded more than $12 million in grant funding, published more than 100 journal articles, and has received numerous scholarly awards.

Last year, he became a Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and, in January of this year, he was named a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. He is also a member of the Virginia Tech Academy of Faculty Leadership.

A well-respected educator and proponent of academic programs supporting the commercial real estate industry, Boyle led the development and launch of Virginia Tech’s Program in Real Estate. His leadership led to the most integrated interdisciplinary academic program in real estate.

His guidance has fostered the program’s growth from four students in 2013 to over 300 students in the major today and into one of the leading undergraduate programs in real estate, recently ranked fifth most popular in the nation.

Erin Hopkins named Willis and Mary Blackwood Junior Faculty Fellow