BIO – Harvey R. Levenson, Ph. D.

Dr. Harvey R. Levenson is Professor Emeritus and past Director of the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly (GrCI), and past head of the Graphic Communication Department. The Institute focused on industry research, testing, product evaluations, consulting, training, seminars, workshops, conferences, and publishing. The Department offers undergraduate and graduate degrees.

 

Prior to becoming Emeritus, Dr. Levenson served a 30-year tenure as a Professor and Department Head of Graphic Communication, the longest ongoing tenure of a department head or chair in the history of Cal Poly. He simultaneously directed the GrCI, and for two years served simultaneously as Interim Chair of Cal Poly’s Journalism Department. His teaching and research specialties are printing and publishing, technology, communication, media, digital imaging, intellectual property, and research methods.

 

Dr. Levenson holds four degrees in printing and communication including a Ph. D. in Rhetoric and Communication from the University of Pittsburgh, a M. S. degree in Printing Management from South Dakota State University, a B. S. degree in Printing from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and an A. A. S. degree in Graphic Arts and Advertising Technology from New York City College of Technology.

 

Prior to joining Cal Poly in 1983, Dr. Levenson founded and chaired the Division of Graphics, Design, and Communication at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before which he was Associate Director of Technical Services for the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF). GATF merged with Printing Industries of America (PIA), also in Pittsburgh, and is now part of PRINTING United Alliance, the largest graphic arts association in the world.

 

Dr. Levenson is the recipient of many awards and honors for his contributions to graphic arts education and technology. Over the years, he has actively served on committees and boards of many graphic arts organizations including GATF, the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA), Electronic Document Systems Foundation (EDSF), the Graphic Arts Literacy Alliance (GALA), and he is past President of the Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications (ACCGC). Dr. Levenson was also elected to the GATF Society of Fellows (the Ben Franklin Honor Society), and is the present Coordinator and editor of the Graphic Communication Advisors Group (GCAG).

 

For his work in education and industry, Dr. Levenson has received the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation Education Council "Award of Excellence"; the U. S. Government Printing Office "Distinguished Service Award"; and he has an award named after him entitled: the “Technical Association of the Graphic Arts Dr. Harvey R. Levenson Student Paper Award." In 2004 he was named “Educator of the Year” by Printing Industries Association of Southern California (PIASC) and received the Jack Simich Educator of the Year Award. He was named the 2004 recipient of the TAGA Honors Award, and received the New York City College of Technology Gamma Epsilon Tau Golden Key Award. In October 2006, at Graph Expo in Chicago, Dr. Levenson was inducted into the National Association of Printing Leadership (NAPL) Soderstrom Society. At Graph Expo 2008, Dr. Levenson received the Dr. Richard F. Hannemann Service Award presented by the Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications. He is the recipient of the Cal Poly 2008 Provost’s Leadership Award for Partnership in Philanthropy.

 

Additionally, a Cal Poly endowment has been established in his name, “The Dr. Harvey R. Levenson Excellence in Graphic Communication Endowment,” and he is the 2013 recipient of the Frederick D. Kagy Life Achievement Award from the International Graphic Arts Education Association. In 2014, South Dakota State University’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication selected Dr. Levenson to receive the department's Distinguished Alumnus Award for his outstanding contribution to his field. In July 2017, Dr. Levenson received the “Hartman/Dennis Service to Education Award” given by the Graphic Communications Education Association.

 

Dr. Levenson is an active researcher, consultant, expert witness and speaker on matters related to printing, technology, graphic arts patents, copyrights, trade secrets, media, and communication, and he has authored many articles and books on these subjects. He has been a technical consultant to approximately 250 printing and related companies, and has conducted numerous seminars and workshops on traditional and digital printing including variable data printing. He has also been a judge in various industry print competitions.

 

Dr. Levenson has authored and/or edited 11 books including Understanding Graphic Communication: Selected Readings published by GATFPress, Some Ideas About Doing Research in Graphic Communication, published by The Good Neighbor Press, and Introduction to Graphic Communication published by GATFPress. A second edition of Introduction to Graphic Communication was published in June 2018 and is an interactive multimedia book published by Intuideas and sponsored by the Ricoh Corporation. Dr. Levenson is also featured in a documentary movie update entitled “Harvest of Wisdom,” tracing the evolution of graphic communication from the dawn of civilization to the present and prospects for the future. The movie producers are PIA MidAmerica and the Nolan Moore Foundation.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Levenson presently resides in Pismo Beach, California.