Robert J. Aalberts | The Interim Executive Director



Robert J. Aalberts is currently the Interim Executive Director of the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is also the Lied Professor of Legal Studies at UNLV. He received his Juris Doctor from Loyola University and an M.A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia in geography with an emphasis in city and regional planning. Upon graduating from law school in 1982, Aalberts was an attorney for the Gulf Oil Company specializing in property and contractual issues relating to oil and gas exploration. After leaving Gulf Oil, he embarked on his academic career as an assistant and then associate professor at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. In 1991, Aalberts left LSU for UNLV. He quickly became involved with the Lied Institute, including serving as an organizer, officer and speaker for Land Faire-Nevada, and then as an executive committee member of the Lied Institute’s Board. Aalberts has also served on the Lied Institute’s Board of Governors for seven years.

Professor Aalberts’ first love is teaching. He has taught the courses Real Estate Law I and II since coming to UNLV in 1991. Aalberts has also encouraged and supervised numerous students who have gone on to major and minor in real estate. He has also been closely involved with mentorship and internship programs. Aalberts has served as one of the faculty advisers, with Dr. Richard Hoyt, of the Real Estate and Business Society (REBS) since its inception. Professor Aalberts has been the recipient of numerous teaching and faculty awards, including the Nevada Board of Regents “Outstanding Faculty Award” in 1997, the College of Business’ Teacher of the Year Award in 2002, and the UNLV Foundation Teaching Award in 2005.

Professor Aalberts’ primary research interests include real estate law and employment law. He has published over 105 articles in legal and business periodicals, including the Real Estate Law Journal, Journal of Real Estate Research, Journal of Real Estate Literature, Real Property, Probate & Trust Journal, The Ohio State Law Journal, The American Business Law Journal, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, San Diego Law Review, Journal of Law & Commerce (U. of Pittsburgh School of Law), Nevada Law Journal (Boyd School of Law), Marquette Law Review, DePaul Law Review, Louisiana Law Review, Pepperdine Law Review, Southern Illinois University Law Journal, The Employee Relations Law Journal, Labor Law Journal, Journal of Legal Studies Education, Southern University Law Review, and the Journal of Business Ethics. He is also the author of the textbook Real Estate Law, now in its 7th edition which has been adopted at many colleges and universities across the United States. Aalberts was the recipient of the College of Business’ Outstanding Researcher Award in both 1993 and 1999.

Professor Aalberts is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Real Estate Law Journal published by Thomson/West, a position he has served in since 1992. He also was a Staff Editor for the Journal of Legal Studies Education from 1989 to 1993 and was on the Editorial Board of the Appraisal Journal from 2000-2002. Aalberts is an active member of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and the American Real Estate Society.