Hospitality Institute and Real Estate Institute Faculty


Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Joshua Harris

Dr. Joshua Harris, Executive Director of the Fordham Real Estate Institute and Hospitality Institute, is a leading real estate economist and investment strategist specializing in real estate and hospitality development, finance, capital markets, and business organizational leadership and strategy. Dr. Harris is also the Managing Partner of the Lakemont Group, a boutique real estate and economic consultancy with offices in Orlando and New York. Dr. Harris excels at assessing feasibility/profitability of projects, markets, and investment strategies/funds; examining the state of the macroeconomy and its impacts on real estate markets; delivering dynamic presentations for industry audiences; and providing strategic guidance and business development services for large organizations. Dr. Harris has been routinely called on as an expert witness and for media interviews in the field of real estate, finance, and economics.

Dr. Joshua Harris served as the Vice President of Investment Strategy for Skanska USA Commercial Development, a leading developer of high-rise office, multifamily, and mixed-used projects in urban cores nationwide. Dr. Harris served as an advisor to the Senior Leadership Team and acts as the head of investment strategy and research coordinating all business planning, market analysis, and research initiatives. Dr. Harris’ primary areas of expertise include economic development, market research, expert testimony, and financial/project consulting. His prior clients included national real estate developers, real estate investment trusts, private equity firms, law firms, and hospitality institutions as well as local governments and real estate companies.

Before joining Skanska, Dr. Harris served as the Academic Director and Clinical Assistant Professor of Real Estate at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate and prior to joining NYU, he served as the Director of the Dr. P. Phillips Institute for Research and Education in Real Estate at the University of Central Florida. He remains active as an adjunct professor of real estate with Fordham University.

Dr. Harris holds a Ph. D. in Finance from the University of Central Florida with a research emphasis in institutional real estate and capital markets. Dr. Harris holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation, has been named an Honorary Kentucky Colonel, a NAIOP Research Foundation Distinguished Fellow, a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE), a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), received a gubernatorial appointment to the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board, elected a Board Member of the AFIRE organization, and was the recipient of the 2020 Practitioner-Scholar Award from the American Real Estate Society.


As an HI or REI student, you will have an opportunity to learn from these recognized and respected experts.