Vice President Louis Levy Announces Retirement

VALDOSTA -- Dr. Louis H. Levy, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Valdosta State University, has announced plans to retire effective Jan. 1, 2010. As Valdosta State’s chief academic officer for the past nine years, Levy has been instrumental in guiding the university’s academic growth through enhanced recruitment of students, improved retention efforts and course and program development.

Levy joined the university in 1989 as professor and department head for Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice -- during this time he was instrumental in the development of the Master of Social Work program. He also served on the steering committee that created the Doctorate of Education, submitted the original proposal for the development of Valdosta State’s Council of Department Heads and chaired the University System of Georgia’s Academic Advisory Committee for Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work.

He advanced professionally and was appointed assistant vice president for Academic Affairs in 1995 and named interim vice president for Academic Affairs in 2000. He was officially appointed to the position of vice president for Academic Affairs in 2002, and in 2008 the title of provost was added to reflect his expanded responsibilities.

“Because of his commitment to shared governance, collegial outlook, and focus on the primacy of the academic mission, the position of vice president was extended to provost,” said President Patrick J. Schloss. “In this role, he became the institution’s first academic leader to chair a planning and budget committee -- where he created funding pools that emphasize the importance of aligning financial resources with the university’s mission.”

His community service has included serving on the United Way and Council on Aging boards of directors. Levy directed Valdosta State’s fund raising efforts for the State Charitable Contributions Campaign and the Annual Faculty and Staff Campaign. For these efforts and others, Levy won the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Division III Award of Excellence and the Public Citizen of the Year Award by the National Association of Social Workers (South Georgia Chapter).

“It has been an honor to serve Valdosta State University as a faculty member and an administrator over the last 20 years,” Levy said. “The university has been a guiding force in my career development, and I am most thankful to my many colleagues on the faculty and staff. I am also grateful to the presidents, vice presidents, deans and directors who have given me excellent guidance and demonstrated strong support for new endeavors. The students at VSU have been a constant source of inspiration. I will most certainly miss the daily interaction with my colleagues in the Office of Academic Affairs.”

Levy received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Louisiana, master’s degree in sociology from the University of New Orleans and a Ph.D. in sociology from Virginia Tech.

Schloss said that he is meeting with campus constituents to develop a plan to select a successor -- including the appointment of an interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs and formation of a search committee. A national search will be conducted and a replacement is expected to begin by fall 2010.