Services for Sherman Miller, head of CU Real Estate Center, set for Monday

BOULDER — Services will be held Monday in Denver for Sherman R. Miller IV, executive director of the Real Estate Center at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.

Miller, 64, died Wednesday in hospice care at home after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Miller, who had worked for more than 30 years in Denver’s commercial real estate community, was named director of the center in February 2012 after serving as acting director there for eight months.

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“Sherm was one of the most affable people I’ve ever met,” said David Ikenberry, dean of the Leeds School. “He had been a tough negotiator as a businessman, but in his heart he was a warm and caring person. I’ll always remember how passionate he was for students’ success, especially at the real estate center. His heart and soul was in the center.”

Nearly all the center’s students landed summer internships in the real estate industry under Miller’s leadership, Ikenberry said, and about 95 percent of its master’s in business administration graduates were successfully placed. “That was true even when the real estate market wasn’t doing well,” he said.

Miller also played an integral role in setting up CU’s master’s program in real estate, set to launch this summer.

“He had a big focus on experiential learning – learning by doing. Sherm just relished helping people grow,” Ikenberry said. “He was great at taking students on the road, to properties and to developers. He was very well equipped to bridge the gap between the university and the practitioner community.

“He epitomized so many of the things the entire college is trying to get closer to.”

Miller also created the National Advisory Board, a group of 35 alumni and real estate leaders from around the nation who work to boost the center’s national reputation, establish a broader network for its students and support the center philanthropically.

Miller came to CU after serving as executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield real estate firm in Denver. Before joining C&W in 1995, he had been senior vice president and senior managing officer for CB Commercial, now CB Richard Ellis, in Denver.

Miller was named 2006 Broker of the Year by the Denver Metro Commercial Board of Realtors and The Denver Business Journal. The University of Denver in 2008 made him an honorary dean of its Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.

Miller graduated from the University of Arizona in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree with distinction in sociology and economics. He is a past chair of the Metro Denver Sports Commission board of directors and a past president of the Colorado chapter of NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association.

He is survived by his wife, CU alumna Mary Sullivan, and two children, Buzz and Ralsey.

Those wishing to share a memory of a photo with Miller’s family can send them to Danielle DePotter at Danielle.depotter@colorado.edu, The staff of the Real Estate Center will be compiling student, alumni and staff stories and making a book for his family. Memorial contributions may be made to the center online.

A memorial service will be held at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Christ the King Catholic Church, 830 Elm St. in Denver, with the Rev. Daniel Leonard as celebrant. A reception will follow at Denver Country Club, 1700 E. First Ave. in Denver.