Chad Lavender ’08 still remembers the moment that locked his future to The University of Alabama. “My dad told me, ‘You can go to school wherever you want, but the check’s going to Alabama,’” Lavender says with a laugh. It was said only in jest, slightly. That’s because Lavender comes from a long line of Bama grads. But that check didn’t just pay tuition — it planted the roots for a career built on big risks, relentless hustle, and a deep commitment to giving back.
Lavender, a fourth-generation UA graduate, is president of capital markets in North America for Newmark Group, Inc., one of the largest commercial real estate advisory firms in the country. He is a dedicated supporter of the Culverhouse College of Business, and his gifts are opening doors for students who share the same grit he carried with him from Tuscaloosa to Dallas and back again.
Lavender cut his chops in business early during his Culverhouse days. He ran a successful T-shirt company (through Tuscaloosa-based JNJ Apparel) with Nick Wright, supplying custom shirts to fraternities and sororities. After he graduated with a finance degree and a focus on real estate, he made his mark early, taking risks that might have scared others off. He went full commission as a broker at age 25, betting everything on his ability to make deals happen. “Ignorance is bliss when you’re young,” Lavender says. “I just knew I had to get over the mountain.”
He weathered the 2008 financial crisis with only $10,000 in the bank and an underwater condo as his first investment lesson. But his grit paid off. Lavender built a name for himself in the challenging world of commercial real estate, eventually becoming president of capital markets for Newmark, where he has made $50 billion of commercial real estate transactions.
Even as his career soared, Lavender never forgot his roots. He was inspired by his family to make giving back to Alabama a personal mission. His mother, Sunee Lavender, graduated with an accounting degree at Culverhouse and worked 25 years in advancement services at UA. His aunt, Alma Scroggins, was president and CFO of CNN, is in the Alabama Business Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Culverhouse Board of Visitors. She was instrumental in reminding Lavender that anything is possible.
He was a big part in helping create the Student Real Estate Investment Fund, a student-managed investment fund that seeks to invest its capital into real estate. Using both public and private investment strategies, SREIF prepares driven students interested in commercial real estate for a variety of career paths within the industry.
“One of my goals was always to support the University that gave me so much and really helped connect me and my network,” Lavender said. His gifts include significant financial contributions and thousands of acres of family land near his Alabama childhood haunts in Boligee and Greensboro—donated through conservation easements that ensure the University can benefit for generations to come.
For Lavender, philanthropy isn’t about his name on a building—it’s about giving Alabama students the chance to dream big and take the same calculated risks that defined his own success. “I want them to invest in themselves,” he said. “I want them to have the tools and the network to elevate their careers—and the Alabama brand with them.”
Lavender’s giving helped establish the University’s real estate program as a major, equipping students with tangible skills and real-world experience. His seat on the Culverhouse Board of Visitors gives him another way to stay connected, mentoring the next generation of business leaders.
“If these kids can push harder and go farther because of what I gave back, then that’s worth every penny,” Lavender said.