The University and the Alabama Center for Real Estate, or ACRE, hosted a social networking event last night at the Cypress Inn perched on the banks of the Black Warrior River.

The event attracted the company of business partners in the Tuscaloosa area, alumni of the University and current students with an interest in the real estate market.

Grayson Glaze, executive director of ACRE, said the event’s large gathering serves as a platform for current students to communicate to others interested in real estate.

“This is the perfect platform for students to network,” Glaze said. “Real estate is a relationship-driven business.”

Glaze delivered the oration for the ceremony of the networking event. He highlighted the milestones reached by graduates from the University’s real estate program and thanked donors and faculty who have contributed to the department’s 80 years of success.

Glaze said the accomplishments of alumni, such as members of the McFarland family, who have a mall and street named after them in Tuscaloosa, indicate the foundation that the University lays for students to succeed in the market.

“It’s about touching lives, which goes hand in hand with the University’s theme,” Glaze said. “We’re proud of the past 80 years but are even more excited about the next 80 years.”

Sherwood Clements, professor of real estate, said the networking events hosted by ACRE familiarize students with the need to be social with others in the real estate market.

“Real estate is all about networking,” Clements said.

Clements said although he teaches students the terms and concepts professionals use in the market, students cannot expect to be successful unless they develop an interest in communicating with future clients and business partners.

Clements said despite the economic decline and crisis in the housing market, students are finding jobs in real estate.

“We’ve been fortunate,” Clements said. “Students are even getting jobs before they graduate.”

Fred Glaze, a realtor of Glaze & Associates in Tuscaloosa and an attendant of the event, said the University will host more networking events in Mobile, Huntsville, Birmingham and Montgomery.

“This is an opportunity for the University to be close on the heels of what’s happening [in real estate],” Glaze said. “In this way, the University can feel the pulse-beat of the community and around the state.”

Sean Almeida, a senior majoring in economics, said the networking events enable students to enter the social scene of real estate.

“I don’t see any other branches doing what we’re doing now,” Almeida said. “It’s a great networking segue.”