LINKING OUR EXPERTISE TO THE REAL ESTATE AND APPRAISAL PROFESSIONS

The author founded a unique one-day geology course for Realtors and Appraisers in 1994 delivered through the Continuing Education Division of the University of Colorado at Boulder. This unique course opens with instruction on science literacy—what science is and how it works. Thereafter, the content addresses specific topics taught in such a way as to promote immediate application. Since 1994, it has been attended by hundreds of Realtors and appraisers to fulfill continuing education credits required to maintain state licensure. The course garnered the highest evaluations in the entire program and is slowly being developed as an online course that can be offered nationally. The National Association of Realtors is the largest professional society in the world, with over 720,000 members. Its members see the influence between land and structures daily, and the resulting curiosity makes them ideal students for the instructor who can connect with a diverse audience of laypersons. Further, the size of their organization gives them more personal contact with laypersons and more political clout than all geological societies combined, so educating this particular audience is a way to bring appreciation of geology and geologists to a wide spectrum of officials and consumers. Outcomes we seek from this course are (1) lower liability risk for home buyers, (2) lower risk & better status for Realtors, (3) better use of local low-cost resources, (4) use of Realtors as “geological emissaries,” (5) improved awareness of public, and hopefully over time (6) improved insurance availability and better regulatory statutes.