By Jessica Silver-Sharp

Last month we heard from our local’s longest serving union member Marc Gottlieb, adjunct faculty instructor in CSM’s real estate program. Marc joined our union back in 1973!  

Professor Marc Gottlieb, CSM

He reported: 

“I have just been recognized and (greatly!!) honored by this wonderful new award (“Advancing Real Estate Award”) via the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office/ Real Estate Education Center….for all CCC Real Estate faculty in the State of California (116 full community colleges plus several dozen CC satellite campuses and centers)….”

“While it may not quite be a Nobel Prize, this is a very prestigious award and one that any of several other California Real Estate professors certainly warranted for their achievements. And besides, the Nobel Committee does give out numerous awards every year, while this award is a 2025 One-of-a-Kind honor.” 

I interviewed Marc to congratulate him on behalf of AFT and thank him for his more than 50 years of membership including regular attendance at membership meetings. I asked what had kept him coming to union meetings all these decades? He explained that it was his desire to stay informed but also to support our union in “any ways we can use” him. Not wanting to talk about himself, he quickly shifted our conversation back to his primary passion – real estate education. He explained in depth that most people don’t understand how extremely lucrative careers in real estate can be for our students who complete the program, especially in the Bay Area.

Just before The Advocate went to press, Marc also shared some last minute news he’d received from the College of San Mateo: “Congratulations! You were honored at the recent Division End-of-Year awards with the ‘Outstanding Adjunct Award’ voted by your peers!”

AFT 1493 greatly appreciates that Marc regularly shares news with our local on wide ranging issues related to California community colleges and faculty. In our conversation, he also offered a range of ideas for ways our local could better connect with Peninsula media outlets of all sorts to more strongly get across our messages to our community and tax payers. 

His message to us — “THANK YOU for all support and encouragement — and for all YOU do!” is one we’d like to send right back to him. Congratulations, Marc!