September 12, 2018

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Pennington-Cross succeeds Eppli as academic head of top program

MILWAUKEE — Dr. Anthony Pennington-Cross, professor of finance in the real estate program at Marquette University, has been named the next Robert B. Bell, Sr., Chair in Real Estate. Pennington-Cross, who has been at Marquette for nearly 12 years, succeeds inaugural Bell Chair Dr. Mark Eppli, who left Marquette in June for a research position at the University of Wisconsin.

As Bell Chair, Pennington-Cross will serve as the academic lead for the nationally ranked real estate program and Center for Real Estate in the College of Business Administration. Working alongside Center Director Andy Hunt, who serves as the industry-focused lead, Pennington-Cross will guide real estate curriculum and teaching and conduct scholarly research that brings value to academia and the real estate industry.

"We conducted a national search that ultimately brought three qualified candidates to the table, Dr. Pennington-Cross among them — it was clear that he was the right person to hold this prestigious position," said Dr. Brian Till, Keyes Dean of Business Administration.

"I am excited and honored to serve as the next Bell Chair in Real Estate — I am looking forward to working with the Center for Real Estate advisory board, Andy Hunt, and our excellent faculty and staff," Pennington-Cross said. "The real estate program has a bright future, as Andy and I work together to expand the program and increase our community engagement, while keeping our focus on the students and making sure they have a deep learning experience that leads to fulfilling and successful lives and careers."

"I feel incredibly privileged to work with Anthony in this capacity," Hunt said. "I believe we make a great team, and I have complete confidence that together we will help lead the center and program to incredible heights in the years ahead."

During his time at Marquette, Pennington-Cross developed and taught the program's foundational Introduction to Real Estate course. He later served as chair of the Finance Department, during which time he helped established a new and burgeoning commercial banking program.

Pennington-Cross is an award-winning researcher, widely published in academic journals including The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Real Estate Economics, and others. Recent research has focused on subprime lending in the housing market (pricing, predatory lending laws and mortgage performance), house price dynamics, commercial property fundamentals, and other and urban and real estate issues.

Prior to joining Marquette, Pennington-Cross was a senior economist in the research division at The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis where he organized a conference on federal government liabilities and led research on subprime lending in the mortgage markets and related predatory lending issues. Previously, he was a senior economist at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the Office of Policy and Research and the director of research at the Research Institute for Housing America, a research organization devoted to extending home ownership to all Americans.

Pennington-Cross holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a doctorate in urban economics from The George Washington University; he conducted post-doctoral research at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About the Bell Chair

The Robert Bernard Bell, Sr., Chair in Real Estate is named for the late father of real estate developer and Marquette alumnus Peter Paul Bell. Peter and his wife Betty, who is also a Marquette alumna, endowed the Bell Chair in 2001 through a generous $3.75 million donation. It was the largest gift in the College of Business Administration's history, and it helped launch the real estate program at Marquette. Read more about the Bells and their gift in the Winter 2018 issue of Marquette Magazine.

For interviews or a head shot of Pennington-Cross, please contact Christopher Stolarski, senior communication strategist, at christopher.stolarski@marquette.edu.