Rick Levi says education gave him a solid start
Rick Levi (BSBA 1972) considered the three best schools in the country to study hotel and restaurant management in the late 1960s. When he and his father flew from Cincinnati, Ohio, to tour the University of Denver campus, it was the first time he’d been to Denver.
Rick Levi (BSBA 1972)
“I liked what I saw on the campus and what I heard about the program, the College and the University in general. So that’s where I wanted to go,” Levi said.
The choice put Levi on the path to a long and storied career in food service. It also allowed him to see more cities for the first time as he relocated to Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas and Iowa for positions with different employers. Early in his career, he ran one of the largest cafeterias at Texas Tech University.
It started at DU with his student employment while he was learning about hotel and restaurant management.
“My education and my working experience in dorm food service both helped quite a bit in preparing me for my career. My education exposed me to accounting and marketing, and that was helpful as a food service director, and definitely helpful as I moved forward in my career,” Levi said.
Shortly after graduating from DU, Levi met a mentor who would change his life. At the time, Fawzy Simon was a district manager at a food service company. Levi, happy at his job at a Denver-area restaurant, rebuffed Simon’s employment offer. But several months later, the restaurant was experiencing financial difficulties and Levi took Simon up on his offer. Eventually, the owners sold the company and both Levi and Simon moved on.
When Levi sought a new position a few years later, Simon had established his own company, Consolidated Management Co., in Iowa. He encouraged Levi to interview for a food service director’s position at a college in Iowa even though his protégé wasn’t enthused about the location. Levi’s interest grew once he saw the position’s potential. He got that job in Iowa, which eventually led to a transfer to Wisconsin. There, Levi moved into a district manager position, the next logical step for an experienced food service director. Simon was teaching him to sell and to excel in management.
Rick and his wife Jeri
“In December 1980, I was promoted to district manager/salesperson. Then, on Feb. 12, 1981, Fawzy died in an auto accident. The two remaining partners asked me to run the company for them. In 1986, I became 100% owner of Consolidated Management, and I kept it until it sold in 2017,” Levi recalled.
Levi set his company apart from competitors by focusing on building a solid operation with an excellent reputation.
“I felt doing what you say you’re going to do is an important thing. I think that goes to the integrity of a person and a company,” Levi said.
He grew the company, which managed food services in small to midsized cafeterias, to accounts in 11 states and more than 300 staff members.
Since retiring, Levi has put his passions to work by giving back. He’s active in his church and volunteers at a local food pantry. He serves on the boards of Project Iowa, a nonprofit that provides job skills, and Great Plains, a religious organization. Additionally, he and his wife, Jeri, a retired technology manager, have decided to give to their alma maters.
In 2020, the couple made a $350,000 bequest to the University of Denver, and they plan to support DU through cash donations on an annual basis. Their gifts provide scholarships for undergraduate business students, which are to be awarded based on financial need inclusive of all majors.
“I’ve always believed that you should give back when you can. And my wife and I are on the same page with that. So, we decided we’d give to different charities that we believed in. Of course, our education was important to both of us, and that’s why we did it,” Levi said.
Tricia Olsen, associate dean of undergraduate programs and associate professor in Business Ethics & Legal Studies, said that improving education access is critical. For example, 259 undergraduate, business-specific, need-based scholarships were awarded to 194 different students for a total of more than $1.7 million in the 2019–20 academic year. Over that same time, those scholarship recipients represented about 11% of Daniels’ total undergraduate student population, including business and non-business majors.
“The return on the Levi’s gift has no limit. We know education has lasting effects for future generations who will need to solve problems we have yet to comprehend,” Olsen said. “Giving the gift of education gives individual students improved opportunities; it gives our community professionals who can innovate with integrity, and it gives us a better tomorrow. We are so grateful Mr. and Mrs. Levi have chosen to support our students, our community and our future so generously.”
Mr. Levi is correct about the three best hotel and restaurant management schools in the country during
the 1960s. As a graduate (1954 BSBA), I too majored in hotel and restaurant at DU. Even in 1954, the three
schools he did not mention were DU, Michigan State and Cornell. Cornell was considered the top. DU, who
was led by the famous Matthew Bernatsky, was second. He later went on to Cornell to head their department.
As an aside, I did play basketball for DU under coach Hoyt Brawner.