Larry A. Outlaw, Director of the Education and Licensing Division, will retire from the Commission effective February 1 after 35 years of service.
Outlaw, both an attorney and licensed real estate broker, assumed the position of director in January, 1979, when the division was established.
A native of Mount Olive, he is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of North Carolina School of Law. Prior to joining the Commission, he worked in the field of education in both administration and development with various types of educational programs at the community/junior college level.
Outlaw worked to improve real estate prelicensing and postlicensing education, encourage community colleges and four-year college/universities to offer the Commission’s real estate prelicensing and postlicensing courses, and expand the educational component of the licensing requirement.
His advocacy of minimum standards for approval of real estate instructors led to the requirement that North Carolina’s instructors possess not only real estate brokerage experience but also effective teaching skills. He established the Commission’s annual sponsorship of a statewide Real Estate Educators’ Conference for real estate instructors and school directors. With the implementation of the continuing education requirement for real estate licensees in 1994, Outlaw crusaded for the implementation of high standards for both the mandatory and elective courses.
Outlaw also worked to assure the excellence of the Commission’s licensing examination. In 1983, when the Commission decided to develop its own license examination, Outlaw collaborated with Professor Kinnard White of the University of North Carolina to assure that the Commission’s examination program would comply with professional standards for development of occupational licensing examinations. Following years of experience developing the Commission’s examinations, he served multiple terms as Chairman of the Examination Certification Committee of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO®).
After the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980’s and implementation of regulations requiring licensing and certification of real estate appraisers, Outlaw also played a primary role in the development of North Carolina’s appraiser education and licensing program.
In 1990, Outlaw received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from Governor James G. Martin. The award is given to outstanding individuals who have a proven record of service to the state. In 1990-91, Outlaw served as national president of the North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association.
As a researcher and writer, Outlaw has shouldered major responsibility since 2000 for the biennual editions of the North Carolina Real Estate Manual, which serves as the textbook for real estate postlicensing classes and as a comprehensive reference for matters concerning North Carolina brokerage practice. Prior to publication of the Manual, Outlaw collaborated with law professors James A. Webster, Jr., and Patrick K. Hetrick to produce multiple editions of North Carolina Real Estate for Brokers and Salesmen – the primary textbook for generations of North Carolina real estate prelicensing course students.
This article came from the October 2013-Vol44-2 edition of the bulletin.