Ever since joining the faculty at the Naveen Jindal School of Management in 2012, Dr. Randall S. (Randy) Guttery has taught 4,900 students without having missed a single lecture — even teaching on crutches after surgeries. Extend that back to his time at the University of North Texas, and Guttery can claim 9,120 students and a perfect 35-year attendance record as a professor.
With that track record, Guttery, a clinical professor in the Jindal School’s Finance and Managerial Economics Area and founder and director emeritus of the Herbert D. Weitzman Institute for Real Estate, is retiring.
The impact of his work was evident as colleagues, alumni and industry leaders gathered recently to reflect on how the institute has reshaped real estate education at The University of Texas at Dallas.
Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and Jindal School dean, told the audience at the celebration that before Guttery’s arrival, the Jindal School had strong student demand but lacked the right leader to build a truly applied real estate program. Guttery’s mix of industry experience, academic background and student focus, he said, changed that trajectory.
“I wanted a very applied program,” Pirkul explained. “So it’s difficult to find the right person with the passion to lead it … When Randy showed up to teach classes, I knew that this is the guy that could make us successful.”
Several attendees at the Nov. 20 event emphasized that the program’s identity — its applied curriculum in both the undergraduate Real Estate Finance Concentration and the graduate-level Real Estate Investment Management Certificate, its connections to the real estate industry and its student focus — mirror the values of the institute’s namesake.
Herbert (Herb) D. Weitzman, founder and executive chairman of Weitzman, told attendees that when he decided to make a legacy gift, it came down to one factor: confidence in the program’s direction.
“When I got the opportunity,” he said, “I just decided to be a part of your growth.”
He praised the program for preparing students through real-world engagement, noting that Jindal School students “know a lot more in technology” and are stepping into an industry where there is “a place for everybody.”
Weitzman added that his decision to support UT Dallas over other institutions came from being an alumnus of the UT System — he graduated from The University of Texas at Austin — and being a board member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center. His friendship with Guttery was also a key factor. Weitzman had stayed in close contact with Guttery and watched the program mature. His $3 million endowment now provides more than 70 scholarships annually.
Industry partners described the influence the Jindal School’s real estate programs under Guttery’s leadership have had. Bob Young, executive managing director of Weitzman, described Guttery’s impact on real estate education as not only noteworthy but also cutting-edge.
“His tenure here has been meteoric, geometric,” Young said. “It’s been exponential relative to putting UTD on the map in the commercial real estate world. And guess what? That’s going to be carried forward by each and every one of us in the room.”
Young told students that they would become “products of the experience” they have at UTD — the same way he learned from industry mentors throughout his own career.
The Jindal School has become one of the region’s strongest pipelines for emerging real estate talent. Many companies have hired UT Dallas graduates or hosted students on site visits, including a recent Weitzman event that brought 50 UTD students to the firm’s Uptown office.
The Real Estate Club at UTD reflects the growth of the Jindal School’s real estate programs, which now number nearly 1,000 students each academic year. The REC now has more than 1,600 members, making it the largest student organization on campus.
As the institute enters its 15th year, leadership transitions to Julie Lynch, who previously succeeded Guttery at UNT. Lynch, an associate professor of practice in the Jindal School’s Finance and Managerial Economics Area, noted that the strength of the program lies in its continuity and foundation.
Lynch explained that Real Estate Principles (REAL 3305, FIN 3305) — the first class in the undergraduate Real Estate Finance Concentration — needs to be taught by the program’s strongest instructor.
“Those are the ones that have the most impact and influence on students that either ignite that fire in them that they want to continue to pursue real estate or they decide it’s not the path for them,” Lynch said. “Well,” she said, pointing to Guttery, “this is the right man to teach that course because I can’t tell you how many students that said I’m going to get a concentration in real estate finance.”
Moving forward, Lynch and a team of seasoned faculty — including adjunct instructors drawn directly from DFW’s commercial real estate sector — will build on that legacy with expanded employer engagement, experiential learning and applied coursework. The goal, she said, is to ensure the program continues delivering what industry leaders praised throughout the event: graduates who are workplace ready, grounded in practical skills and supported by a close-knit professional network.
With a growing alumni community, strong advisory partners and the backing of one of Texas’ most influential commercial real estate firms, the Weitzman Institute is strongly positioned for its next chapter. Weitzman emphasized that UT Dallas is “the best place” to prepare for real estate careers in what he called “the most fantastic business in the world.”
