Dr. Norman Levan, 95, has donated $13.665 million to Bakersfield College, the largest donation to a community college from a private individual ever. The majority of the doctor?’s donation will go toward scholarships, while the remainder will go toward funding the Norman Levan Center for the Humanities and the Senior Lifelong Learning program.
A celebration and news conference was held on March 24.
During the celebration, Dr. Levan said, “I’m glad to be here and have the privilege of supporting what is really the pearl of the valley, Bakersfield College.”
$10 million will go toward the Norman Levan Scholarship Endowment. The scholarship will award $2,000 to 250 students, for a total of $500,000, every year to help with the costs of education.
The 2011 donation also establishes an endowment of $665,000 to go toward scholarships for those with an interest in studying Hispanic or Native American communities.
The BC Foundation currently gives away $400,000 in scholarships annually. The additional $500,000 will more than double the current amount given in scholarships by the foundation.
Mike Stepanovich, executive director of the BC Foundation, said, “it really is a game changer for people in Bakersfield, because in this community there is a large section that is disadvantaged. I think we have a lower college going rate than other areas in the state and I think a large part of that has to do with the fact that people are disadvantaged.
“Even a community college education for some people is out of reach. What this means for hundreds of people a year [is that] they will be able to work on their college degree. For literally hundreds of people, forever, they will be able to pursue a college education.”
This is the second time in five years that Dr. Levan has made a multi-million dollar donation to BC. In 2006 he gave BC $5.7 million to go toward the creation of the Norman Levan Center for the Humanities.
This is also the second time that Dr. Levan has given the largest donation to a community college in history. At the time his 2006 $5.7 million dollar donation was the largest in history. That number was eclipsed by a $10 million donation to Santa Monica College by Eli and Edyth Broad in 2008, according to a press release from BC. The donation has returned Dr. Levan to the position of largest private donator to a community college.
Two of the four largest donations from an individual to a community college in the United States have been from Dr. Levan to BC, according to Kern Community College District chancellor Sandra Serrano.
According to Amber Chiang, director of marketing and public relations at BC, the donation is the largest donation from an individual to a community college in California history.
“Historically, we know that a gift of this magnitude frequently encourages others to give as well – and so we certainly hope that it will have that impact,” said Stepanovich.
While BC wished for the identity of the donator to remain anonymous until the ceremony, Dr. Levan’s identity was leaked to the local media a day before BC wanted to reveal him. BC administration does not know who leaked the information. “I wish I knew,” said Chiang.
“It is extremely difficult to know what to give and where and I feel that I made the right choice, I hope that I have,” said Dr. Levan, to a laughing crowd.
Dr. Levan was presented with a medallion by president Greg Chamberlain for the “largest donation by an individual in the history of the United States.”
Mayor Harvey Hall thanked Dr. Levan with a certificate for his contributions to BC. “We constantly strive to better the quality of education at Bakersfield College, and certainly with this giving gift we’ll be able to do that.”
Dr. Levan also received thanks from representatives of Assemblywomen Jean Fuller and Shannon Grove and congressman Kevin McCarthy.
According to a press release from BC, Dr. Levan is a widower and still practices medicine once a week on Monday.
Dr. Levan did not attend BC, instead, he became involved with the school when he became friends with John Collins, a former president of BC.
Dr. Levan said he acquired his wealth in the early 1960s while working as a professor at USC and operating a medical practice in LA while investing into the stock market.
He attributes his success in stocks to the growth of the market since then.