Four years after launching the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation, Peter J. and Sharon L. Cocoziello have made a new seven-figure commitment to endow the directorship at the institute they founded. The gift will provide the institute's leader, a position now named the Advance Realty Investors Director - reflecting a deepening partnership between Penn State and industry leadership in real estate innovation - with resources to expand cutting-edge research, industry-facing initiatives and corporate partnerships.
"After accumulating decades of success as entrepreneurs in the real estate industry, Peter and Sharon understand that aligning expertise, urgency and creativity can rapidly advance an industry," said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. "Their gift to endow the Advance Realty Investors Directorship will empower the institute to be both nimble and aggressive in testing new ideas and forging relationships with industry partners with the potential to transform the real estate sector. I thank Peter and Sharon for once again elevating the institute's national profile and positioning our faculty and students for success."
The mission of the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation is to identify and solve real estate's most pressing challenges through cross-disciplinary collaboration and education. To advance this mission, the institute actively connects students and faculty with industry leaders through interdisciplinary research, applied projects and executive engagement to develop and test solutions that advance the built environment and drive impact - from amphibious housing to 3D-printed materials.
Building on this momentum, the Cocoziello Institute is preparing to launch a new industry partnership membership model to expand engagement across sectors such as construction, development, architecture, engineering, infrastructure, prop-tech and related sectors. The model will offer structured opportunities for corporate partners to collaborate with faculty and students through collaborative research, pilot projects, networking events and thought leadership. By formalizing these relationships, the institute aims to accelerate innovation and create direct pathways to commercialization, while ensuring its work is continuously informed by the evolving needs of the market.
"Sharon and I understand the challenges facing the real estate industry, and we know how important it is to have partners in higher education with expertise that help address those challenges and prepare the next generation of leaders," said Peter Cocoziello. "Our hope is that an endowed directorship will elevate the program and attract more students passionate about real estate."
By endowing the directorship and expanding the resources in the institute director's budget, the Cocoziellos' gift will advance key priorities. The director will have the discretion to fund seed grants with significant prospects for downstream commercialization in collaboration with industry partners, support strategic planning, convene events, enable travel to high-profile conferences, conduct outreach and lead interactive workshops with students and industry leaders.
Scarlett Miller, Paul Morrow Professor of Engineering Design and Manufacturing and the Cocoziello Institute's current director, will assume the title of Advance Realty Investors Director.
"It is an honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of steering the Cocoziello Institute toward new frontiers of growth and innovation," said Miller. "Through their generosity, Peter and Sharon have positioned Penn State as a destination for attracting the brightest, most ambitious researchers in the field, and this gift to endow the directorship will strengthen the institute's work across the board. The real estate industry is evolving, and I am eager to leverage this gift to help close the gap between Penn State's research and the needs of the built environment - working with industry leaders to translate knowledge into applied solutions.
A founding co-chair of the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation and creator of the Advance Realty Lecture Series, Peter Cocoziello is the founder, president and CEO of Advance Realty Investors, a New Jersey-based real estate development, investment and management firm. He is a 1973 graduate of the Smeal College of Business, earned a certificate in mortgage financing from New York University and completed the Harvard University Presidents' Program. Sharon Cocoziello graduated from Drake College of Business and Public Administration and built a decade-long career at ExxonMobil before stepping away to focus on raising a family. Beyond their involvement at Penn State, both participate extensively as volunteers on boards related to commerce, real estate and women's health and education.
With this gift, the Cocoziellos are deepening an already strong philanthropic legacy at Penn State. In 2004, the couple made a gift to support construction of the Business Building, and in 2022 they created the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation. Their other philanthropic priorities have included the Levi Lamb Fund, which benefits varsity-level student athletes, and Four Diamonds, which advances research and care for pediatric cancer patients at Penn State Health Golisano Children's Hospital and their families.
Miller has queued up plans to capitalize on the new opportunities made possible by the Cocoziellos' latest gift.
"Innovation in the real estate sector encompasses so much more than workforce development, construction and the buying and selling of property," Miller said. "These innovations require breaking down silos for interdisciplinary collaboration across architectural engineering, computer sciences, environmental ecology and more, with that knowledge translated into pilot projects in collaboration with industry partners seeking scalable, applied solutions. We're looking at amphibious housing for deployment on flood plains, architectural glazing for seamless glass facades and 3D-printed recycled plastics - and these early-stage ventures are just the tip of the iceberg of what's possible."
Donors like the Cocoziellos advance the University's historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University's impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
