Lawrence Levy

Associate Vice President and Executive Dean of the National Center for Surburban Hofstra University

  • Hempstead NY

Dean Levy works close with Hofstra’s academic community to shape an innovative agenda for suburban study

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Spotlight

1 min

President Weighs in on Local Mascot Dispute

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, was interviewed by WPIX News about President Donald Trump weighing in on the Massapequa school district’s insistence on keeping its indigenous mascot name (the Chiefs) and emblems. Levy said that the president’s involvement is related to a hotly contested election for Nassau County executive this fall. “This is a hot-button issue,” he said, “that President Trump would help his fellow Republicans with.” Massapequa is regarded as a heavily Republican area.

Lawrence Levy

1 min

Red Light Cameras Emerge as a Politically Divisive Issue

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, is featured in a Newsday article about red-light camera programs and how they are emerging as a divisive political issues on Long Island. He likened the red-light camera program to that of congestion pricing for its “good government motive” aimed to improve traffic safety, charging drivers who violate the law while gaining money to help pay for the county police department. The issue, Levy said, is “a real tough one for politicians to gauge because of the mix of potential court cases and legislative actions that could be taken and the general mood of the public about anything that could be seen as a tax by another name.”

Lawrence Levy

1 min

Pay Raises for LI Town Officials

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, is featured in a Newsday article about pay raises for Long Island town officials. Among Long Island’s 13 towns, all but three gave raises to their town supervisors and council members, and all but two gave raises to their town clerks and tax receivers. Levy explained that many officials like the idea of telling voters each year that they aren’t getting a pay hike, but that means when they do enact a raise, the increase will be a big dollar amount, even if its average, over 10 years, is in line with cost-of-living increases. That big increase “looks awfully scary in a headline,” he said.

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Biography

Before joining Hofstra, Lawrence Levy spent 35 years as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and PBS talk show host, winning many of journalism’s top awards, including Pulitzer Finalist, for in-depth works on suburban politics, education, taxation, housing and other key issues. As a journalist, he was known for his blending of national trends and local perspectives and has covered six presidential campaigns. As executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, he has worked with Academic Director Christopher Niedt to give it a truly national profile. He works especially close with Hofstra’s strong academic community to shape an innovative agenda for suburban study, forge alliances with other institutions, not-for-profit groups and government agencies and promote the study of the suburbs nationwide. Levy is a member of a Brookings Institution advisory panel and led a collaboration between Hofstra and Boston College to create a first-in-the nation suburban ecology initiative, and another alliance between Hofstra and Cornell to sponsor the Local Government Leadership Institute. Before joining Hofstra, he was senior editorial writer and chief political columnist for Newsday. Levy has been a guest contributor to CNN.com, the New York Times.com, covering the 2008 presidential campaign from a suburban perspective. He also writes a regular column on politics for the Albany Times Union, and appears regularly on local and national television.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning

Areas of Expertise

Suburban Spaces and Development
Suburbs
Education
Taxation
Politics of the Suburbs
Suburban Voters

Accomplishments

2022 Educator of the Year

2022-07-12

Lawrence Levy was honored as the 2022 Educator of the Year by the Long Island Black Educators Association (LIBEA). The organization focuses on professional development for educators and academics for students.

Education

Boston University

B.S.

Journalism, Film & English Literature

1972

Media Appearances

What Walz Brings to the Ticket

Spectrum News  tv

2024-08-07

Lawrence Levy talked to WCBS-AM radio, Newsday, and Spectrum News about Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her 2024 presidential running mate. (Access to all three provided in link)

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Trump’s conviction in hush money trial may turn off independents, but is firing up the right

New York Daily News  print

2024-06-01

Lawrence Levy spoke to the New York Daily News about the 2024 presidential election, where there will be a likely rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Both must figure out how to win over the small group of voters who have said a guilty verdict in Trump’s “hush money” trial would impact their votes.

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Experts: Donald Trump conviction likely to have little impact on presidential race

Newsday  print

2024-05-30

Lawrence Levy, spoke to Newsday about the 2024 presidential election, where there will be a likely rematch between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Both must figure out how to win over the small group of voters who have said a guilty verdict in Trump’s “hush money” trial would impact their votes.

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Research Focus

Teacher Diversity in Long Island's Public Schools

2019-03-01

Excerpted from the Executive Summary:

Even as the number of non-White students and residents on Long Island has surged over the past
decade, the hiring of Black, Latinx and Asian teachers has failed to keep pace, leaving minority and
White students alike with few, if any, diverse role models that an increasing body of research has
identified as important for their success. For example, 61 percent of Long Island’s 642 public school
buildings do not have a single Black teacher and 43 percent have no Latinx.

Research by The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University (NCSS) has found that 179,
or about 28 percent of Long Island’s public school buildings, do not have one non-White teacher. That
means some 80,000 students will never see a Black, Latinx or Asian teacher in any of their classrooms.
The study has identified 378 buildings, about 60 percent of Long Island’s total, that have fewer than 5
percent minority teachers. The situation is even more extreme when considering only Black or Latinx
educators: Two-hundred-twenty-three (35%) Long Island schools do not have a single teacher of either
heritage. Forty-nine percent of all students on Long Island – 212,000 children – attend schools where
they never see a Black teacher; similarly, 30% – 129,000 students – attend schools without a single
teacher of Latinx origin

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