Dec 05, 2011

Levinson Recommended to Serve as Interim Vice President for Board of Regents

David L. Levinson

In Interim Dual Role, Would Join Leadership Team Implementing Reorganization

David L. Levinson, President of Norwalk Community College, is in line to take on additional responsibilities on an interim basis as Vice President for Community Colleges at the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, effective January 1. Interim Board President Robert A. Kennedy said today he will be recommending Levinson’s interim appointment, which will be on the Board’s agenda at their December 20 meeting.

In the coming months, the Board of Regents will conduct a national search for a permanent Vice President for Community Colleges, for which Dr. Levinson will be considered.

The Board of Regents has responsibility for more than 96,000 students attending 17 public institutions in Connecticut, including the state’s 12 community colleges, four state universities (Central, Eastern, Southern and Western), and Charter Oak State College, which is the state’s on-line institution.

In accordance with state law which mandated the reorganization of higher education, two individuals are to be designated as vice presidents with responsibilities related to the state universities and state colleges, respectively. Those individuals would work with Kennedy, who was appointed as interim President in September, and Michael P. Meotti, a former Commissioner of the Department of Higher Education, who became Executive Vice President of the Board. The law states that the vice presidents are recommended by the president and appointed by the Board.

“I am incredibly pleased that David Levinson has agreed to take on these additional responsibilities,” Kennedy said. “He will bring tremendous experience, know-how, enthusiasm and dedication to the reorganization effort, and his work at Norwalk underscores the commitment we share to providing students with a top quality education that prepares them to succeed academically and in their careers. He is particularly well-suited to continue his outstanding work at Norwalk Community College, while collaborating to advance our reorganization efforts.”

Levinson has been president of Norwalk Community College (NCC) since August 2004. During his presidency, NCC completed a successful capital campaign for a new Science, Health and Wellness Center, became an Achieving the Dream Leader College, and was selected by MDC, Inc. as one of fifteen community colleges nationwide to receive funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a developmental education project. He is currently serving a 3 year term (2011-2014) as a Commissioner on the New England Association of Schools and College’s (NEASC) Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, our regional accrediting body.

“I am excited about bringing my experience leading Norwalk Community College to a state-wide level where students can pursue a seamless educational pathway in order to attain the competencies required for successful employment in a knowledge-based economy,” Levinson said. “There is much great work to build on, but more needs to be done in order to produce the talent needed to spur job creation in Connecticut.”

Levinson serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Campus Compact, Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk Children's Foundation, U Thant Institute, and the Workplace, Inc., southwestern Connecticut’s Workforce Investment Board (WIB). He also serves on the Leadership Council of the Family and Children’s Agency of Greater Norwalk, Stepping Stones Children’s Museum Community Advisory Board and chairs the Transformation Steering Committee of the Norwalk Housing Authority Choice Neighborhood Initiative Planning Grant.

He has served on Connecticut's Early Childhood Research and Policy Council, was a member of the American Council of Education's Commission on Lifelong Learning and was elected to the Society for the Study of Social Problem's Budget, Finance and Audit Committee. Dr. Levinson has been selected by the American Sociological Association to serve on the Public Understanding of Sociology Award Selection Committee for 2010-2012.

Dr. Levinson is the author of Community Colleges: A Reference Handbook (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Press, 2005) and general editor of Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia (New York and London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2002).

“Having a sitting college president actively involved in moving the newly reorganized system of higher education forward, with a focus on the needs of our students, is particularly important. Community colleges play a pivotal role in the lives of our students and the prospects for our state, and David Levinson not only understands this, he is a leader who lives it every day,” said Cathryn A. Addy, president of Tunxis Community College and chair of the council of presidents of the Connecticut Community Colleges.

“David Levinson fully understands the critical role of community colleges in driving economic advancement, and will help lead our efforts to ease the transfer of credits, improve connections with business and industry, and encourage innovation, entrepreneurism, and scholarship,” Kennedy added.

Earlier in his career, Levinson served as the academic vice president at Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey and was recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has taught at: Bergen Community College; Merrimack College; Norwalk Community College; Teachers College, Columbia University; and Tufts University. Dr. Levinson holds a B.A. in Sociology from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.