College of Business and Public Policy names Andrew Romerdahl as first Weidner Chair
ANCHORAGE, AK—UAA alumnus Andrew Romerdahl (M.B.A. '08) will serve as the first Weidner Chair in Business Management for 2014.
In 2011, Dean Weidner, founder and owner of Weidner Property Management, pledged $3M to establish an endowed chair in UAA's College of Business and Public Policy (CBPP); Weidner also gave $1M to create an emphasis in real estate and property management within the Bachelor of Business Administration finance degree.
The Weidner Chair in Business Management will help the College expand its programs to meet the changing demand of the business community and provide opportunities to hire exceptional professors or professionals in a particular field of study.
The first appointment to the Weidner Chair is a professor of property management and real estate. The Chair will interface with the Alaska business community, engage in relevant research and develop an expanded curriculum to include courses in key concepts of residential and commercial property management, affordable housing, military and senior housing and issues relevant to Alaska.
Andrew is a lifelong Alaskan, who grew up in Anchorage and attended East Anchorage High School. He received a bachelor of arts from Willamette University in Economics and Spanish and a master of business administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Andrew recently joined Providence Health and Services as the Director of Real Estate and Construction for the Alaska Region. He is a licensed real estate professional in both Alaska and Oregon. Andrew is also a certified general real estate appraiser, and holds the prestigious MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute. Andrew has a decade of commercial real estate experience in Alaska, and has worked Pacific Tower Properties/PTP Management, Pfeffer Development, Reliant Advisory Services and Pacific Realty.
Andrew is the immediate past president of the Building Owners and Manager's Association (BOMA) Anchorage, and is on their board of directors. He is currently the regional president of BOMA Pacific Northwest Region. He is also a member of Anchorage East Rotary, and is one of the founding members of the UAA M.B.A. Alumni Club.
Andrew is eager to step in as the first distinguished Weidner Chair. "This is wonderful time for UAA and the property management and real estate community of Anchorage. I am excited to help grow the partnership between the community and the university to benefit our future students. And, I would like to thank Dean Weidner for his vision and commitment to the College of Business and Public Policy."
Andrew and his wife, Carmen, have two daughters, Chloe (4) and Madeline (2). Andrew enjoys golf, mountain biking, snow biking and skiing.
The Weidner Chair in Business Management marks UAA's fourth endowed chair, and CBPP's second. Others are the Rasmuson Chair in Economics, the Atwood Chair of Journalism and the Herbert P. Schroeder Chair of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program.
UAA press release