2025 Hankin Lecture
"The Future of Housing is Now"
Wednesday, November 19 at 4pm EST
Robb Hall in the Hintz Family Alumni Center, Penn State University Park
Dennis Steigerwalt, president of the Housing Innovation Alliance, will deliver the 2025 Hankin Distinguished Lecture, hosted by the residential construction program and the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center, which is housed in Penn State’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His talk, “The Future of Housing is Now,” will be held at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19 in Robb Hall in the Hintz Family Alumni Center at University Park. A reception will follow the free, public event.
Lecture Description:
In today’s rapidly evolving homebuilding industry, innovation is not just a concept but a necessity. With 75% of Americans valuing homeownership as part of the American Dream — and over half of Gen Z and Millennials viewing their only chance as luck — builders face the urgent challenge of delivering attainable, high-quality homes amid rising prices and shifting consumer expectations across market segments. Drawing on international experience across roles in industry collaboration, technology investment and hands-on project development, Steigerwalt provides an actionable path for advancing the housing sector. Highlighting the critical role of collaboration among builders, regulators and technologists, this lecture will showcase recent innovations in design, materials and construction techniques that are making a tangible difference on the ground. Steigerwalt’s lecture will encourage industry leaders to be bold, experiment and prioritize ongoing strategic innovation — highlighting that progress is happening “on the go” through collective effort, early partnerships and decisive action — and emphasizing that you don’t have to, nor should you, go it alone.
About the Hankin Distinguished Lecture Series:
The Hankin Distinguished Lecture series, hosted by Penn State’s residential construction program and the PHRC, was established in 2006 to honor the late Bernard Hankin and his family for their continuous and dedicated support of the residential construction program at Penn State. It brings world-class speakers to Penn State to address students, faculty, industry members and the public with thought-provoking topics and education related to the housing industry. The residential construction program and the PHRC are administered within Penn State’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering. The lecture series is free and open to the public.
The full length videos for lectures from 2007-present are available for online viewing on our website.
About Dennis Steigerwalt
Dennis leads business strategy, market engagement, and program development with reach across 2000+ companies impacting 40%+ of U.S. annual housing starts. Prior to the Alliance, Dennis helped change the face of the housing industry in Saudi Arabia. He helped to create a nationwide program to develop a modular housing industry – modeling 26 strategic initiatives that would jumpstart the creation of a robust construction ecosystem, evaluating 200+ global technology providers, and securing initial approval for $4B in government investment. He was also a key player in SABIC’s Home of Innovation program, a $30M+ multi-year market engagement program focused on encouraging collaboration among the housing value chain and ensuring that better construction practices are adopted throughout the GCC region.
Dennis and his wife are active participants in fundraising and event planning efforts for the Children’s Free Care Fund. In his spare time he enjoys big adventures with his wife and sons on the water and in the mountains. He supports the efforts of other entrepreneurs – advising and investing in start-up companies ranging from CPG to PropTech to Robotics
