LEVIN, RICHARD C.

LEVIN, RICHARD C. (1947– ), president of Yale University. Born in San Francisco, Levin received his bachelor's degree in history from Stanford University in 1968. He studied politics and philosophy at Oxford University, earning a bachelor of letters degree. In 1974 he received his doctorate in economics from Yale, and he joined the Yale faculty that same year. An influential economist, Levin focused on the economics of technological change, including industrial research and development and the effects of public regulation on private industry. His work in the 1970s and 1980s on the Interstate Commerce Commission influenced railroad deregulation. At Yale, Levin taught courses on microeconomics, the oil industry, and the history of economic thought, among other subjects. He became director of graduate studies in economics, then was appointed chairman of the Economics Department in 1987. He was named the Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Economics at Yale in 1992, and he became dean of the Graduate School that same year. Levin was named president of Yale in 1993. One of the longest-serving Ivy League presidents, he became known for several initiatives. Under his presidency, Yale invested over   $2 billion in renovation and building, focusing on the expansion of the university's medical and science facilities. At the same time, Levin worked to build a partnership with the city of New Haven, supporting initiatives for economic development, education, and human services; these measures have included the renovation of downtown New Haven, local home-buying programs, the President's Public Service Fellowships, and contributions of $100 million to city improvements during Levin's tenure. Another of Levin's priorities has been the "internationalization" of Yale. He created the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, headed by Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, and the Yale World Fellows Program, which seeks to train emerging world leaders. Building connections with China, Yale sponsored an Advanced University Leadership Program for presidents and vice presidents of fourteen leading Chinese universities in 2004 and 2005, as well as an executive education program for Chinese government officials in June 2005. Levin served as a director of Lucent Technologies and as a trustee of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a leading philanthropic organization. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he was a member of the board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy at the National Academy of Science. A member of the American Economic Association, he also served as chairman of the board of the University Alliance for Lifelong Learning, sponsored by Yale, Oxford, and Stanford Universities. (Dorothy Bauhoff (2nd ed.)