NEW YORK CITY-From as early as she can remember, Patricia J. Lancaster has always been an infrastructure junkie. “I worked at the Port Authority in the 1980s and I had the privilege of going to the top of the George Washington Bridge,” she tells GlobeSt.com. From there, Lancaster has worn many hats in the construction business, from vice president at LCOR Inc. to New York City Buildings Department commissioner.

Now, Lancaster is the newest clinical professor at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, where she will teach courses on construction management, infrastructure and urban planning. “My whole career has prepared me for becoming a professor,” she says.

In her new role, Lancaster will focus on two core elements of the program: real estate development and Schack’s construction management thesis class. “I’d like to show that real estate projects don’t stop at the property line, especially in this time where we are faced with power, sewer, light and transportation issues,” she says.