Kevin Boyle retires after two decades of leadership
Boyle was the founding head of the Blackwood Department of Real Estate.
After 20 years of service to Virginia Tech, Kevin Boyle retired in September 2025.
At Virginia Tech, Boyle was most recently the Willis Blackwood Professor of Real Estate in the Blackwood Department of Real Estate. Prior to that role, he was the department head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 2013 he became the founding director of the Program in Real Estate, which became the Blackwood Department of Real Estate in the Pamplin College of Business with a gift from the Blackwood family in 2022.
“When I think back on every year in the department and in my career, the absolute best part was interacting with the industry advisory board and our students,” Boyle said, fighting back emotion. “I would not be here today if it weren’t for all of them and their dedication.”
During his tenure at Virginia Tech, Boyle received multiple awards and recognitions, including Top 100 People in Real Estate for 2022 and the Alumni Award for Research Excellence in 2021. He is also a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, and of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
“Everyday I am thankful for the position that Kevin has put our program in and the position he has put Virginia Tech in to develop the next generation of real estate leaders,” said Dustin Read, department head of the Blackwood Department of Real Estate. “I’m the beneficiary of twenty years of incredible work that came before me under his leadership.”
Boyle’s research focused on the estimation of property-value models to understand how amenities and disamenities affect real estate market values. These include air pollution, forest pest infestations, surface and groundwater quality, urban stormwater infrastructure, tree cover, and more all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Chile, Australia, Bangladesh and India. One of his recent projects highlighted the impact that tree coverage has on urban property values.
“I’ve been involved with the department from very early on and it has been incredible to see progress led by Kevin Boyle,” said Willis Blackwood. “His perseverance, dedication, outreach, and foresight for the real estate program concept was really novel and outstanding. We all owe him a lot of gratitude for what he did.”
In addition to his research expertise, Boyle taught courses on careers in real estate, real estate data analysis, professional development in real estate, and led students’ senior capstone experiences that integrated their college coursework into the transitions to professional careers.
