M. Walter Levine Speaks to UB Community

On Thursday April 20 in the ABC 9th floor lecture hall, M. Walter Levine spoke to the campus community with a lecture entitled “How Can I Succeed in Today’s Global Economy?” The event was sponsored by the Business School Club at UB and was a finale to the Walter Levine Lecture Series that have proven to be successful with the students and faculty over the past year. Also there with Mr. Levine was a panel of UB students from both the Business School and the International College, particularly those from the model UN competition, to share their comments and questions concerning how to make it business. Frequently through his lecture, Mr. Levine stated that the one thing to know to make it in business are the five words, “How can I help you?”
The story of how Mr. Levine rose from being a poor resident in Brooklyn, NY to a successful salesman who built ten businesses is not your typical rags to riches story. Rather, it was a constant switching of success and failure as Levine learned from the failures using that knowledge to achieve the successes. As a direct result of these ups and downs in his business practices, Levine has acquired valuable “real-world” experience that has taught him more than any class could have, and gratefully he shares his knowledge with aspiring entrepreneurs.
One of Levine’s first milestones came into view when he became the number one sales manager for Bahama Reality and Dictograph burglar alarm franchise for five years. With Levine’s successful sales expertise, the company grew to be one of the top 20 alarm companies in the US with a staggering 100 employees (Levine trained himself). He was so successful in his role as sales manager that the company gave him the responsibility to conduct and set up sales training programs for more than four thousand sales people worldwide.
In 1991, Mr. Levine was diagnosed with several different types of cancer. A stem cell transplant and strict dietary regulations have prompted a full remission. However, it started a new period of his life where he devoted time to supporting cancer research and patients. He was so devoted in helping out cancer patients that he was even granted a private audience with Mother Teresa. This led to his assisting 750 cancer patients, this officially labeled him as a success in philanthropic work as well as the world of business.
As a pinnacle of his lifetime successes and achievements, Mr. Levine was presented with an honorary PhD by the University of Bridgeport in May 2004. It was because of this that he started the Walter Levine Lecture Series for the university community to inspire others to go far in the field of business. As one of the University’s most sought after programs, it is a safe bet that he has achieved a connection with the University of Bridgeport. As Mr. Levine has said on numerous occasions, “To be enthusiastic, you got to act enthusiastic”.