Building the foundations of success for students and alumni

They say numbers tell the story, but if that’s true, how do you explain Jerry Levy’s story? Levy’s long and successful career was defined by numbers and smart financial decisions, but now he’s being honored for something beyond the realm of any numerical calculation.

That an actuary’s career can run much deeper than the job description is evident once you get to know Levy (BS, ’73, actuarial science). He worked for more than 40 years as a consulting actuary and pension consultant, including during the private sector’s pivotal shift away from defined benefit retirement plans to defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s.

The new contribution plans shifted the responsibility of saving for retirement to employees. They saved money and time for the companies, but something about them always bothered Levy. Therefore much of his career, particularly in the latter years, was ensuring that the companies created processes that sustained pension payments for retirees who had long relied upon payments under the old plans.

“I was always mindful to advocate that organizations take care of the people that got them to where they were,” Levy said.

Is it any surprise, then, that Levy, after leaving U of I in the 1970s with the education necessary to launch his career, returned to campus to help those who helped him? For his volunteer service as an alumnus to the college and the Department of Mathematics, he is receiving the LAS Distinguished Service Award.

His role on campus has been instrumental for the past several years. He served on the LAS Alumni board from 2008 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019, including several years as president, and he served on the Mathematics Development Advisory Board from 2013 to 2016. During that time he played a key role in the creation and expansion of a new scholarship program that by the 2021-22 school year was awarding almost $80,000 to talented mathematics students.

Levy also worked with mathematics faculty members to create a new departmental alumni awards program, and he served as a passionate advocate for the renovation of Altgeld Hall—now underway—and led efforts that paved the way for an ongoing capital fundraising campaign for the Altgeld renovation and construction of a new Illini Hall.  

“Jerry’s devotion to the Department of Mathematics and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is without parallel,” said Jeremy Tyson, former chair of the Department of Mathematics, in nominating Levy for the distinguished service award. “We are fortunate to have such a passionate and effective alumnus, whose service to the university has improved the welfare of many students. His will be a lasting legacy, and stands as an inspiring example of the impact of a University of Illinois education.”

Levy’s service to U of I started in the early 2000s when he was approached by Carolyn Pribble, now retired from the LAS Office of Advancement, to participate in LAS Career Night, featuring alumni who returned to campus to speak with students about their jobs. Levy accepted, having already a deep affinity for his college experience and former professors. One of them, J.W. Peters—a “gentleman and a scholar,” Levy said—taught actuarial science in an engaging manner, and another, William Ferguson, taught advanced algebra through an innovative old British textbook written in 1898.

“It was all about solving algebraic problems, but in a way that it fostered creativity,” Levy recalled. “Being creative is very important later on, when you're faced with business problems that may not have any direct solution.”

Levy’s involvement with Career Night led to a seat on the college alumni council and later the mathematics advisory board. One of his proudest accomplishments on the mathematics board was co-chairing, along with Peggy Ruff (BS, ’75, mathematics and psychology), the alumni awards committee. Their work highlighted several successful and innovative alumni, such as Mary Lynn Reed (MS, ’90; PhD, ’95; mathematics), who went on to serve as chief of the National Security Agency’s mathematics research division and also received an LAS Alumni Achievement Award in 2018.

Even now, as Levy accepts his own award, he uses his moment to highlight the good work of the college and the Department of Mathematics.

“Back in the 1970s, and even today, actuaries had the stereotype of being highly analytical but not very communicative,” Levy said. “But all these LAS electives that I took led to being successful in the softer aspects of my profession—the consulting part that has nothing to do with the numbers, but how well you can communicate. Because of that, I've been eternally grateful.”