By Tiffany Ayuda

Larry Levy sits patiently at his desk and listens to Chris Niedt on the phone from Berkley University, as they painstakingly review and edit an invitation for an event they’re hosting at the University. As Levy and Niedt debate about the correct word usage and grammar, he whispers over from his desk, “Welcome to the real world.”

As a journalist, editor and columnist for over 30 years, Levy has been to the “real world” and back. In his senior year at Boston University, Levy served as a senior correspondent for The New York Times. After college, he freelanced for five years as a writer for The Times, a fashion reporter for Boutique, a European magazine, and wrote scripts for a film company. In addition, Levy co-hosted “Face Off,” a public affairs talk show produced by a PBS affiliate on Long Island.

Levy left freelancing and joined Newsday in 1977. He wrote in the national, local, editorial and real estate sections of the Long Island newspaper. He also has won many prestigious journalism awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1999. “I wanted to do serious journalism. I liked the investigative work, and I wanted to write about issues that mattered to people,” Levy said.

Now, Levy has committed his life to something that brings journalism together with academia. After recently being named the executive director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at the University, Levy is working on issues that pertain to suburban life, something familiar to residents of Long Island.

“The suburbs are the most populous areas in the world,” Levy said. “The suburbs are the center of dynamic social and economic change in a society, and it has become the laboratory for studying change in America.”

The University established the Center for Suburban Studies in 2003. The Center’s goal is to spread awareness about the issues that affect suburban life and to educate people about the social changes and politics in America. Long Island is host to the first ever planned suburb, Levittown.

Levy’s family moved from the Bronx to Valley Stream, Long Island, when he was five years old, so he said he realizes and understands problems distinct to suburban life. As someone who lived in Long Island’s suburbs and a journalist who has studied them, Levy offers a first-person perspective of changes in American suburbia.

While Levy said he misses life at Newsday, his work at the University has led him to use his skills as a journalist in other ways.

“I miss it very much. I miss the day to day clash of debating the editorial policy, but change is good. I get to blend the best of journalism with the possibilities of academia,” Levy said.

Eventually, Levy said he aims to teach journalism at the School of Communications. He is currently working with faculty and administration from the School to set up a political journalism internship program for journalism and political science majors to work with local newspapers.

“My best advice for journalism students is to always seek criticism. It will bring you a long way to know what you can gain from improvement,” Levy said. “Even as a journalist of over 30 years, I seek criticism. Everyone needs positive reinforcement, but it’s always better to know where you actually stand.”