We're less than a month away from LAI's 35th Biennial Congress to be held November 6-8, 2003 in beautiful Waikiki Beach.  The LAI Aloha Chapter has an exciting and informative program planned for us.  Join us for a casual Weekend Experience as we learn about Hawaii, its land economics, history and rich culture.

The schedule includes guided trolley and walking tours, the LAI Awards Dinner, a tour of the City of Kapolei, and a luau at the Lanikuhonua Private Beach Park. 

[Click Here] for a detailed schedule of events

[Click Here] to register for the Hawaii Weekend Experience online

Lambda Alpha International Awards Banquet

An important part of the LAI Biennial Congress is the recognition of professional achievement through the International Awards program.  This year we are honoring the following award winners for their significant contributions to Lambda Alpha International, land economics and related fields:

Douglas M. Duncan - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OFFICIAL AWARD:  Presented to Mr. Duncan for his significant contribution to improving the quality of urban living.

Richard Hauser - INTERNATIONAL SKYLINE AWARD - Pennsylvania Avenue - America's Main Street:  Presented in recognition of Mr. Hauser's noteworthy and commendable instance of the practical application of the principles of land economics in the preservation, development, or utilization of our land resources.

Joseph R. Passonneau - INTERNATIONAL URBAN AFFAIRS AWARD:  Presented to Mr. Passonneau who has made outstanding contribution to urban affairs and who has advanced the frontiers of knowledge via research and the development of unique operations and technical programs.

Walter L. Mess - GERALD HINES INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD:  Presented to Mr. Mess who  had a vision for what the community could become in the future, the ability to see what was needed to achieve that vision,  marshaled the resources and then helped direct the activity to accomplish the goal.

Fereydoon Ghaffari - INTERNATIONAL MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD:  Presented to Mr. Ghaffari for his commitment to Lambda Alpha, his profession. and to land economics with respect to achievements in education.

Roger Kallman - INTERNATIONAL FELLOW AWARD:  Presented Mr. Kallman for his outstanding achievements in the field of land economics and for contributions to the advancement of Lambda Alpha International's goals, through esteemed leadership and foresight.

Professor Celeste M. Hammond - INTERNATIONAL ELY EDUCATOR Presented to Professor Hammond who has achieved excellence within the academic world in the field of land economics.

Roger K. Lewis, FAIA - INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM AWARD:  Presented to a Mr. Lewis whose efforts have contributed to a greater understanding of the principles, practices and greater awareness of land economics and is for a sustained, exemplary contribution to a regional body of work.

Professor Tsuyoshi Kotaka - INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR AWARD:  Presented to an Professor Kotaka whose literary efforts have contributed to a greater understanding of the principles, practices, and greater awareness of land economics internationally and is for an exemplary book length publication.

The awardees will be honored Friday evening November 7 at a special dinner during the Biennial Congress.  The dinner will be at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach Hotel in Honolulu.

Higher Education Real Estate Lawyers - Fall 2003 Conference
October 16-17, 2003

The University of Pennsylvania’s Office of the General Counsel is pleased to announce a two-day conference for higher education real estate lawyers. The University of Pennsylvania will host the conference, which is presented in cooperation with NACUA.  Conference activities will take place at two venues; the Inn at Penn, a four star hotel located in the heart of Penn’ s campus in Philadelphia and the offices of Penn’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services at 31st and Walnut Streets.  The conference will be devoted exclusively to issues of concern to college and university lawyers practicing in the area of real estate with particular emphasis on development and financing and campus growth.  The program will include presentations by experienced attorneys in private practice as well as round table discussions with colleagues about the challenges and opportunities faced by college and university real estate lawyers. Conference information and registration materials are available at: www.upenn.edu/ogc.

The following slate of officers will be brought before the Board of Governors for approval at the Hawaii Weekend Experience:

President:  Stanley Hamilton, Vancouver
Vice President:  John Gnuschke, Memphis
Vice President:  Alan Artibise, At-Large
Vice President:  John Fuller, Boston
Vice President:  Rebecca Burnham, Phoenix
Vice President:  David Shotwell, Sacramento
Vice President:  Carol Levinson Waggoner, East-West Gateway, St Louis
Vice President:  Drew Petterson, Ely
Secretary:  Forrest Huffman, Philadelphia
Treasurer:  Susan Aaron, Ely
Past President:  Virginia Solomon, Toronto

Message from the Land Economics Foundation President

In November, the Executive Committee of the Land Economics Foundation will have reached the end of its two-year term.  I am sure that the incoming LEF Officers will be ably assisted by the LAI Board of Governors and the Officers of LEF, as well as by the patience and help of Terry Stevenson and Barbara Morris at LAI Headquarters.  I am grateful for the support that they gave me in my capacity as President, and to the LEF Executive Committee over the past few years. 

As Treasurer, Stanley Hamilton provided excellent guidance for all financial matters, while also acting as Chairman of the Scholarship and Investment Committees.  He will shortly preside over the merger of the Canadian and American Foundations.  Although the investment portfolio suffered a drop several years ago after September 11, the funds are now recovering and relatively stable.  Because of increased donations by members, the Lambda Alpha International LEF Scholarship is now offered annually and has been supplemented by a $1,000 Award offered by the Canadian Land Economics Foundation.  This is in addition to the LEF program funding for special Chapter events. 

Other members of the LEF Executive Committee have spent numerous hours on matters of business that arose at quarterly telephone conferences.  These proved to be an effective way of managing the Foundation between LAI/LEF Board Meetings.  I wish to thank them for their input and advice. 

Finally, I am pleased to report on a new fund raising initiative by the Land Economics Foundation.  The Foundation is introducing a Donation Card program similar to many other charitable organizations.  The donation cards are embossed with the Lambda Alpha Logo on the front and may be used by chapters or members as tribute, memorial, thank you or congratulatory missives.  They will be available for a cost of $20.00 (U.S.) each. This is a modest, yet significant way of marking an occasion, while providing support in furthering the aims and objectives of LAI/LEF.

Your chapter president/scribe/secretary should have these available for suitable occasions, and members may avail themselves of the card service by contact with the local secretary.  For donations of $100.00 or larger, an embossed certificate will be available through LAI Headquarters (contact Terry Stevenson 630/579-3284) indicating the honoree, donor and other relevant details.  Please ensure the success of this program by giving it your full consideration.

The outgoing LEF Executive Committee joins me in wishing continued success to the new Boards of LAI and LEF.

Virginia A. Solomon
President,
Land Economics Foundation
2001-2003

Maui's Largest Mall Sells for $75 M

The Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, the only regional mall on Maui, has sold for $75 million.  Maui Land & Pineapple Company, and the State of Hawaii Employee Retirement System sold the 570,000 square foot mall to a partnershp of Somera Investment Partners, CoastWood Capital Group, and Seligman Western Enterprises.  The 30-acre mall was built in the early 1970s and underwent a $72 million renovation in 1994.  It was 80% leased at the time of sale.   In-line store sales are $350 per square foot, and the capitalization rate is in the "mid-8%" range.

Thanks for the Great Response

LAI Headquarters recently sent letters to the membership asking them to check their personal information on our web site Directory.  Your response has been overwhelming!  Over 200 members have updated their information on-line, and 300 more have faxed  updated information to us. 

Remember:  your email address and the password (LAI) are your access into the Members Only section at  209.224.198.102.   If we don't have your email address in our database, you won't be able to access your member profile or the membership directory.   

For problems logging on, contact us at LAI headquarters (630/579-3284) or email Barbara Morris lai@lai.org and we'll be happy to help.  Also, remember to update your personal information as needed, especially your email address so that we can continue to provide you with our monthly edition of OnLine KeyNotes and other timely information.

Lambda Alpha International Governance

To learn more about LAI and the role the Board of Governors plays,  log onto the web site at 209.224.198.102  to access previous Board of Governors' meeting minutes.  Find out what the BOG is doing for you.

Retro Video Review

The Trial of Richard Ely (1964) from the television series Profiles in Courage

Starring: 

Dan O'Herlihy                      as Prof. Richard T. Ely
Marsha Hunt                       as Mrs. Richard T. Ely
Leonard Nimoy                    as Defense Attorney Burr Jones
Ed Asner                              as Prosecuting Attorney

VHS Format $15.00 - Available through LAI headquarters

Set amid the social unrest and labor strife that rocked the United States in 1894, this docudrama follows then-University of Wisconsin economics professor Richard T. Ely as he defends the principle of academic freedom. 

The country was in the throes of a serious depression, and strikes and labor-management violence were frequent:  the Haymarket Massacre where a bomb thrown by alleged anarchists killed seven Chicago police officers; the Homestead Massacre where a gun battle between Pinkerton detectives and strikers at a Carnegie steel plant also took seven lives; and the violent Pullman railroad strike ended by federal troops.  

Professor Ely was Director of the University's School of Economics, Politics and History in 1894.  A leader whose expertise was recognized both in academic circles and by the social and governmental leaders of the day, Ely was not without controversy.  Ely's main research interest was the labor movement and the economic and social problems that lead to violent labor unrest.  He believed that economic peace to benefit both labor and industry could be achieved through the study and understanding of both sides in these labor-management conflicts.

In his lectures, Professor Ely awakened the interest of his students by encouraging discussions relating to the present labor conflicts.  Oliver E. Wells, Wisconsin's State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a member of the Board of Regents, publicly charged that Ely's teachings provided moral justification for attacks on life and property.  Newspapers from around the country picked up the story, making it both a national and local issue.

The Board of Regents formed an investigating committee, and hearings were convened.  With all the elements of a courtroom drama, the first session was closed to the public.  The second day "the law auditorium was packed with over 200 people, including professors and prominent townspeople".  The final day spotlighted influential witnesses, including University of Wisconsin President Charles Kendall Adams, U.S. Commissioner of Labor Statistics Carroll D. Wright, Brown University President E. Benjamin Andrews, and eminent historian Frederick Jackson Turner testifying in defense of Ely's character, writing and teaching.

By the end of the hearings, it was evident that Ely would be exonerated and Wells discredited.  The legacy of this story is a plaque on Bascom Hall at the University of Wisconsin that reads:

"Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless shifting and winnowing by which alone truth can be found"

Ely's teachings as reflected in this statement by the Board of Regents is one of the foundations of higher education in this country.

Academic freedom is an extension of the concept of free speech; it is the idea that there should be no unreasonable limits on the search for knowledge.  Teachers and students should be free to pursue the advancement of knowledge without fear of reprisal.  This video dramatically recounts Ely's story and the timeless issue that can take many forms, from moral conflicts over teaching evolution to current controversies over cloning and stem cell research.

(Resource:  Sifting and Winnowing:  Academic Freedom and The Ely Trial  by Harry Miller, Senior Reference Archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society.)