Associate Professor, Real Estate
Chuck Delaney has priorities, and his students are at the top of that list.
“I never had children of my own,” he said. “I tell my students they’re the kids I never had™like it or not! My students are my number one priority, and my drive is making a difference in those students’ lives.”
Teaching wasn’t always in the plan though. Originally from Massachusetts, Delaney attended the University of Rhode Island with aspirations of becoming an oceanographer.
“I think I hit Organic Chemistry II and decided maybe I would switch to being an Economics major!” he said.
After graduating, Delaney took a position in administration at the University of Florida and earned his master’s degree and a PhD in Finance with a Real Estate concentration. In 1988, he began teaching at Baylor and settled into his passion of teaching.
“I don’t care to operate like a ‘sage on a stage’ teaching behind a podium,” he said. “I interact with my students and invest in them. My objective is to teach higher-level critical thinking skills and reorient the way they think.”
Delaney is also a realist.
“On an evaluation, one of my students said he didn’t like me, didn’t like the class, but he learned more than he ever thought he would from a professor at Baylor,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I really want the students to get the concepts so they can survive in the real world.”
Known by his students as “Dr. D,” Delaney offers over 25 years of real estate investing experience to his students.
“I want my students to learn from my past mistakes and successes in the real estate market,” he said. “I bring life lessons into the classroom, and I think if you can do that, as a professor, you can make a significant contribution to their education.”
Delaney also engages in research to better teach his students. He has worked with J.T. Rose, Baylor professor of Finance, in developing case studies that can be adapted to either Finance or Real Estate courses.
“There were areas in both Finance and Real Estate that were severely lacking in terms of having case studies for students so they could fully immerse themselves deeper into the subject matter,” he said. “Also, several of our case studies are designed to address the inconsistencies between the ways that Finance professors and Real Estate professors taught concepts-it was a pedagogical issue that we’re working to correct.”
Delaney invests in his current students but is also dedicated to reconnecting with former students. He created the Facebook group “Baylor Real Estate Students” for current, past and prospective students. The group offers a discussion forum as well as job announcements and internship opportunities.
“I think it’s important to have that networking ability and support,” he said. “Last spring, directly or indirectly through the group, I had four students secure employment and seven others secure internships. Like anything, it requires nurturing, but it’s just another way to reach out to former and current students.”
Outside the classroom, Delaney is an outdoorsman-whether it’s snowshoeing, kayaking, hiking or fishing.
“I think it’s important to appreciate the quietness and the outdoors,” he said. “That’s where I go to clear my head and get away from it all.”
Delaney is also a fighter. After facing cancer in 2004, he’s fighting it once again, but he’s determined to go on with his teaching.
“I’m not alone in this,” he said. “I’m dealing with it, going to put it behind me, and go on with my life. Teaching is my passion, it always has been. I look forward to going to work, and I have fun teaching. The day it’s no longer fun, I need to move onto something else.”