In April 2010, Schill was presented with the Impact Award for Excellence in Housing from New York City's Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC). Schill was recognized for his work as the founding director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. During the presentation of the Impact Award, Sarah Gerecke, then the executive director of the Furman Center, said of Schill, "Mike is a builder. His academic research built new ways of thinking about problems, ranging from fair housing to one government’s condemnation of another government’s land. He built confidence and critical thinking skills in all the students lucky enough to work with him. He built the foundation for change in his path-breaking policy analyses like reducing the cost of new construction in New York City. And he’s built institutions that have a far greater impact than they would without him." Jerilyn Perine, executive director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council, said "Mike’s work at Furman was marked by his careful, conducted research that policymakers and the public could always rely on. He was expert at vigorously defending his positions, but in the nicest possible way."
