The Wisconsin Real Estate Program is extremely fortunate to have a group of dedicated and talented real estate professionals who teach real estate courses and bring their day-to-day experience and real-world experience into the classroom as adjunct professors. One of these professors is Lauren Lofton, a UW-Madison alum, who has been teaching for the Wisconsin Real Estate Program since 2016. She is a licensed real estate attorney and has been practicing real estate law for 17 years, with an emphasis on commercial real estate transactions. She currently teaches several courses at the Wisconsin School of Business, including “Real Estate Law” and “The Real Estate Process,” as well as a graduate-level course on real estate development.
In addition to teaching in the classroom, Lofton has recently taken on the new challenge of developing an online course for “The Real Estate Process.” With over 500 undergraduate students majoring in real estate at the Wisconsin School of Business, the online course will make real estate education more accessible to students who cannot attend class in person or are having difficulty getting into the course due to full enrollment. Lofton said that initially she was skeptical about teaching an online course because she values the benefits of in-person student interaction and engagement. However, she has found that online courses open up education and enables her and fellow faculty to “bring education to as many people as we possibly can.”
Real Estate Department Chair Tim Riddiough says, “Lauren is an extremely dedicated teacher and mentor. She is contributing in several important ways to the mission of the WSB and our department, most recently with the development of an online RE 306 course. This is a strategically important course for us, as it introduces undergraduates from all across campus to the real estate process, serving as a gateway into the real estate major. Lauren spent countless hours developing this singular educational product. All of us here in Madison are proud of our association with Lauren, and for all of the great work she does for us.”
Lofton views real estate as a dynamic industry, particularly since many real estate professionals are entrepreneurs who have their own unique approach to the field. Her advice to her students who are hoping to land a job in the real estate industry after graduating is to “get a job early, even a low-level job… just get your foot in the door.” Lofton knows first-hand that the real estate is an industry really values experience, and having that early work experience will help young professionals advance more quickly within the industry.
Lofton always takes the extra time to answer the many questions from students on careers within the real estate industry, how to develop their resumes and advice on how to search for a job. In turn, she says she appreciates and learns from the perspectives of the many “interesting, bright, and capable students at UW-Madison.” Overall, Lofton wants her students to come away from her classes with more confidence to use their voice and express their views, both in the classroom and in other areas of their lives.
In her free time, Lofton enjoys going to concerts with her husband, who owns MadCity Music. She also owns a Clumber Spaniel named Madge, who she spends a lot of time entertaining.
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