A new center at the Farmer School of Business now has a new faculty member as its director. Tyler Wiggers will lead the Center for Real Estate Finance and Investment (REFI) starting in August.

A 1993 Farmer School economics and finance graduate, Wiggers has worked in many aspects of commercial real estate over the last 30 years, starting as an analyst at JPMorgan Chase and most recently working in Commercial Real Estate Risk and Policy at the Federal Reserve Board.

“Even though I retired from the Fed, I sort of wanted to still stay involved and give back,” Wiggers said. “I love interacting with the students. I like teaching because I feel like with the 30 years of experience I've got, I'm able to give something to them that is above and beyond what I had when I was a student.”

The Center for REFI, announced last year, serves as a focal point for the Farmer School’s real estate major and minor. “I'd like to bring some national recognition to the school for the work that we're doing, but specifically in commercial real estate.” Wiggers said. “I think that I bring a core competency or competitive advantage with my background from all the things I did with the Fed and being a borrower and lender, and with that, we can do things that other programs don't.”