By Dr. Isaac Megbolugbe
In early 2026, I was deeply honored to receive the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who. It is an accolade that naturally invites a person to look back across decades of academic research, corporate leadership, and policy design. But as I traced the lineage of my career milestones, I realized there is one person who deserves all the “blame” for this crowning achievement: Professor Susan Wachter.
Susan set a trap of high expectations for me over thirty years ago, and I have spent my entire professional life living up to it.
Our story began when I was a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. My schedule was completely locked up by several professors across multiple research projects and teaching assistantships. By all practical measures, I had no availability. Yet, Susan insisted. Guided by the strong recommendations of other faculty, she knew exactly who she wanted to work with, and she refused to take “no” for an answer. She hired me as a research consultant, carving out a space for us to collaborate. As a young scholar, I was profoundly moved by her fierce insistence. Her immediate respect for my work ethic and scholarship instilled a deep sense of confidence in me. That was the foundational spark of our lifelong bond and friendship.
The Power of Absolute Trust
Years later, when Susan approached me to collaborate on our 1992 Housing Policy Debate paper, “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Homeownership,” our dynamic shifted to one of profound professional empowerment. By then, I was a young assistant professor of real estate finance at American University. Susan handed me the request for the paper and did something extraordinary: she assigned one of her own doctoral students to perform all the econometrics estimations entirely under my instructions and guidance. Furthermore, she left the interpretation of the data and the writing completely to me.
I was amazed by the level of trust an endowed, world-class professor would invest in a junior faculty member. Driven by her faith in me, I did my absolute best. When I presented the final work, she approved everything as fully sound and beyond perfect. That paper went on to become a foundational benchmark that generations of subsequent researchers have leveraged, cited, and imitated. In academia, imitation is the ultimate compliment you can receive from your colleagues. Susan gave me the gift of high expectations, and in doing so, she taught me what true academic leadership looks like.
A Lifelong Choice for Partnership
The true depth of Susan’s belief in me became clear years later, when our careers had evolved even further. When she was tapped to go to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as Assistant Secretary, she immediately came looking for me to serve alongside her as her right-hand expert.
By that time, I had moved into the corporate world and was serving at PricewaterhouseCoopers as the Practice Leader of PwC’s Global Housing Finance Practice. I deeply wanted to join her in Washington, but the responsibilities of my global practice were immense, and we ultimately could not find a suitable replacement to let me step away. Yet, for her to think of me—and only me—for such a critical national role made me profoundly proud, grateful, and tremendously encouraged.
The Ultimate Accusation
Many peers in both academia and industry have put me on a pedestal throughout my career, but the truth is that my standing is a direct reflection of the intellectual embrace I received from Professor Susan Wachter. Her public and unwavering validation of my scholarship elevated my standing in every room I entered.
So, as I hold this Lifetime Achievement Award, I publicly lay the “blame” exactly where it belongs. If I have achieved greatness in my industry, it is because Susan refused to let me achieve anything less.
Susan, from the busy doctoral student you stubbornly recruited, to the young assistant professor you trusted implicitly, to the global practice leader you called upon to help lead a federal agency: thank you. Thank you for your early belief in me, your brilliant partnership, and your enduring friendship. Your work continues to illuminate the path toward a more equitable world, and your belief in me remains the greatest engine of my career.
Isaac Megbolugbe, Director of GIVA Ministries International. He is a recipient of Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in business and academia in the United States of America. He is retired professor at Johns Hopkins University and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is resident in the United States of America.
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