Colorado State University Awards Honorary Doctorates to Dave and Gail Liniger, Founders of RE/MAX International Inc.

Note to Reporters: A photo of Dave and Gail Liniger is available with this release at news.colostate.edu.

Colorado State University will confer honorary doctoral degrees on Dave and Gail Liniger, founders of RE/MAX International Inc., at the College of Business commencement ceremony at 8 a.m. May 18 at Moby Arena. The degrees will be presented by Chancellor Emeritus of the Colorado State University System Joe B. Blake.

The Linigers are being honored in recognition of their many contributions to the state of Colorado and countless philanthropic organizations, and for building a global business on a foundation of ingenuity, inspiration and integrity.

Real Estate Maximums
When Dave and Gail Liniger founded RE/MAX in Denver in 1973, it revolutionized the way real estate companies were structured by allowing those who work for the company to create wealth previously not possible for agents. Expanding from its Colorado beginnings, RE/MAX International Inc. has transformed the real estate industry and become the largest privately owned real estate franchising company in the world.

Dave and Gail currently serve as Chairman and Vice Chair of the company, still based in Colorado.

Dave Liniger coined the name “RE/MAX” from the words “real estate” and “maximums.” The RE/MAX business model combines a maximum commission concept with world-class support services, including custom-designed computer software, advanced training and education, and national advertising. The RE/MAX balloon is one of the most recognized logos in the world. RE/MAX agents have a voice in running the office, and as a result are the most productive in the industry.

Gail Main joined the firm in 1973 as office manager – and its first employee. She and Dave worked together to build the new company. In 1975 the company opened its first franchise outside of Colorado; by 1978, the company had eight offices and was ranked number one in Denver. In 1994, RE/MAX opened its first offices outside North America and three years later was the number one real estate company in the world. Today, RE/MAX has more than 90,000 agents in 88 countries.

Corporate culture of giving
This phenomenal growth has been guided by the Linigers’ vision that has created a corporate culture of collaboration, productivity, gratitude and giving. They are widely credited with improving conditions for everyone employed in the real estate industry with their business philosophy and by pushing for governmental housing reforms that helped speed the housing recovery from the Great Recession in 2009. Many of those proposals have been adopted and the results can be seen in the market today.

The Linigers have set a tone of philanthropy since the early days of RE/MAX, and this culture of giving attracts professionals who care about making a difference in their communities. As just one example, in 2011, Dave and Gail accepted the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Founder’s Award on behalf of the RE/MAX network, which has raised more than $115 million for local children’s hospitals.

The Linigers also developed and own the Sanctuary Golf Course in Sedalia, Colo., devoted primarily to charity golf tournaments. The private course has raised more than $60 million for hundreds of organizations since opening in 1997.

Colorado State University will confer degrees on spring 2013 graduates at commencement ceremonies May 16-18. College ceremonies and ROTC commissionings at Colorado State University will recognize 3,100 undergraduate and 945 graduate students, including 66 doctoral students and 141 DVM students. Seventy-three students are candidates for distinction as summa cum laude, 139 as magna cum laude and 229 as cum laude.