UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Longtime Penn State supporters Peter and Sharon Cocoziello have stepped forward with a major gift commitment to launch the Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation. The endowed institute will convene frontline industry experts for the purpose of identifying and solving challenges facing the real estate sector. The institute will be administered by Invent Penn State and housed at the University’s Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub in downtown State College. Peter, guided by more than four decades of executive experience in the industry, will serve as the institute’s board chair for an inaugural five-year term.
The historic gift was recognized by a special celebration on Oct. 28 at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub, where President Bendapudi and other University leaders gathered to express their gratitude and discussed how the gift will impact students across the University.
“Peter and Sharon are loyal Penn State supporters with an exceptional track record of volunteerism and generosity, but what makes this gift so special is that they have leveraged their industry-specific knowledge to design and structure a unique constellation of resources,” said President Neeli Bendapudi. “Their leadership means that our students will have the chance to move beyond the classroom to gain unprecedented access to the problem solvers and thought leaders on the cutting-edge of innovation in their industry.”
The institute will facilitate collaboration between Penn State faculty, students and external partners as they analyze trends related to capital markets, energy, hospitality, sustainability, materials, labor economics and law and policy, all in terms of their impact on the real estate industry. Teams will also explore how real estate markets can adapt to regulatory environments and technology innovation while making optimal use of big data. Funding from the endowment will be available to advance these priorities in a variety of ways, including hosting laboratories to incubate ideas with input from academics and professionals; attending conferences to disseminate findings; hiring a director to manage and execute the institute’s initiatives; and organizing programming to engage students in skill-building exercises.
“We created the institute to spur continuous learning and foster entrepreneurism—but most importantly, we saw a way to finally break through silos with cross-disciplinary conversations,” said Peter Cocoziello. “Right now, these complex considerations get walled off in their respective academic fields, but Invent Penn State gives us a platform for dynamic engagement that lets us think about carbon emissions, supply chain logistics, architectural innovations and so much more, all at the same time. That’s an enormous leap forward.”
The Cocoziellos’ gift took advantage of the recently concluded Economic Development Matching Program, activating a 1:1 match from the University. Penn State will match additional gifts to this endowment or to create new endowments, up to a total of $5,000,000, that may be established by third-party donors who support the institute or its associated programming.
“The core mission of Invent Penn State is to build and support entrepreneurial ecosystems, and so when Peter and Sharon came to us with the bold vision of how to dramatically enhance our educational tools for fostering innovation in the real estate sector, we were thrilled and inspired,” said Lora G. Weiss, senior vice president for research. “The institute will be a magnet for top minds in the industry, a key selling point in student recruitment and a stable bridge linking academic study to the existing real estate industry.”
A 1973 graduate with a degree in finance from the Smeal College of Business, Peter went on to become the founder, president and CEO of Advance Realty Investors, a Bedminster, New Jersey-based real estate development, investment and management company. He also earned a certificate in mortgage financing from New York University and completed the Harvard University Presidents’ Program.
Peter attributes his success to his focus on continual education and his drive to stay relevant in a fast-changing world. He grew up on the western ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Fairchance, Pa., a town with fewer than 2,000 residents. Peter received a scholarship from the commonwealth that offered him the resources to attend Penn State, where he found himself surrounded by groups of students hailing from towns and cities across the state and beyond.
“After transferring to Penn State, I found myself in a totally new and intimidating environment, and I struggled,” Peter recalled. “I attended classes followed by many late hours in the library. I was determined to make the dean’s list, and through perseverance and dedication I did. Looking back, it was that experience of shifting through radically different surroundings that taught me to constantly adapt and keep learning, and I took that lesson to heart when I entered banking and eventually real estate.”
Peter founded Advance in 1979, and in the intervening years it has developed or acquired more than 20 million square feet of commercial, residential, mixed-use and industrial projects. Today’s development pipeline includes more than 3,300 residential units and eight million square feet of logistics/industrial properties.
Peter prioritizes volunteerism at many levels. He has served as co-chairperson for the advisory board for the Institute for Real Estate Studies and on Smeal’s Board of Visitors. In 2007, he received Penn State’s Alumni Fellow Award, and in 2012 he earned the highest honor, Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes the achievements of outstanding alumni whose personal lives, professional achievements and community service exemplify the objectives of their alma mater. Additionally, Peter established the Advance Realty Real Estate Lecture series at Penn State and founded the Institute for Real Estate Studies.
Beyond the University, Peter served as chair of the Foundation for New Jersey Public Broadcasting, the Young Presidents’ Organization, the New Jersey National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the Foundation for Morristown Medical Center. Today, he continues to sit on the board of directors for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. He is the recipient of a number of significant honors including Developer of the Year from the Forum for Commercial Real Estate Development Association; two-time recipient of Entrepreneur of the Year in the Real Estate Division from Ernst & Young, Inc. NJ; the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice; honoree from the Real Estate Forum Top Commercial Real Estate ICONS in the Mid-Atlantic Market; and recognition as NJ BIZ’s 50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate. Earlier this year, Peter was honored at Monmouth University’s Real Estate Institute and received the Leadership Excellence Award. This award represents his dedication and support in advocacy, education and other services to the real estate industry.
Sharon Cocoziello graduated from Drake College of Business and Public Administration and went on to build a decade-long career at ExxonMobil, before stepping away to focus on raising a family. Today, Sharon is involved in various philanthropic activities for women’s health and education. Peter and Sharon reside in Oldwick, New Jersey, and have three grown sons: Peter, Jr., a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University; Daniel, a graduate of Princeton University and New York University; and Alexander, and graduate of Cornell University and New York University. Each, after having established independent careers in investment, construction or development, has now joined the family business.
With this gift, the Cocoziellos are deepening an already substantial philanthropic legacy at Penn State. In 2004, the couple contributed a major gift to support the construction of the Business Building, and they have provided significant funding to the Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies in the Smeal College of Business. 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 kids with cancer being treated at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital.
With the record-breaking success of “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” which raised $2.2 billion from 2016 to 2022, philanthropy is helping to sustain the University’s mission of education, research and service to communities across the commonwealth and around the globe. Scholarships enable Penn State to open doors and welcome students from every background, support for transformative experiences allows students and faculty to fulfill their vast potential for leadership, and gifts toward discovery and excellence help serve and impact the world. To learn more about the impact of giving and the continuing need for support, please visit raise.psu.edu.