Morris Davis
By Joshua Burd
Morris Davis, the longtime academic leader of the Rutgers Center for Real Estate, is joining the White House Council of Economic Advisers as the nation’s chief housing economist.
The appointment, which runs through December, means the respected finance and economics professor will advise the president on policies that can help lead to lower housing costs and increased supply, according to an announcement from Rutgers Business School. It follows more than a decade at the helm of the Center for Real Estate, where Davis has served as the Paul V. Profeta chair of real estate and academic director since soon after its launch, helping to educate students, conducting research that has both academic and industry relevance and exchanging ideas at events and conferences.
“We are ecstatic to have a talent like Professor Davis join us at the White House Council of Economic Advisers,” Steve Miran, the council’s chairman, said in a statement to Rutgers. “Morris will play a pivotal role as we work to build more homes and make housing affordable again for American families, helping to usher in President Trump’s economic Golden Age.”
Davis joined the Center for Real Estate in 2014 after serving as the James A. Graaskamp chair of real estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and academic director of that school’s real estate program. His arrival at Rutgers came a year Paul V. Profeta, the owner and president of Paul V. Profeta and Associates Inc. and the publisher of Real Estate NJ, donated $1.5 million to establish a chair in the field, paving the way for the program to recruit a host of industry leaders to help set the academic course and provide students with networking and job opportunities.
“It’s an honor to be asked to serve our country,” said Davis, a former economist at the Federal Reserve Board who routinely briefed former Chair Alan Greenspan on housing and macroeconomics. “My goal is to help the president make housing affordable for everyone.”
Rutgers Business School noted that it’s deeply involved in research projects that have the potential to improve business practices everywhere, citing its location in a state that is within a four-hour drive of 20 percent of the U.S. population.
“Anything that is good for New Jersey is good for the United States and the world,” Davis added.
Established by Congress in 1946, the CEA has roughly 45 members who are charged with providing empirical research to support the president in setting the nation’s economic policy.
“Morris is a proven leader with innovative ideas that can positively affect real estate productivity and public policy today,” said Lei Lei, dean of Rutgers Business School.
