In Memoriam: Naomi Ruth Bronheim Levine, 1923-2021

Naomi Levine, who was the chief fundraiser at New York University for many years, died last month at her home in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was 97 years old.

A native of The Bronx in New York City, Levine was a graduate of Hunter College of the City University of New York. She later earned a law degree at Columbia University.

After law school, Levine joined the Commission on Law and Social Action of the American Jewish Congress, where she wrote briefs on some of the nation’s most notable civil rights cases including Brown v. Board of Education.

In 1972, Levine was named executive director of the American Jewish Congress. She was the first woman to head the Congress. In 1978, Levine took a fundraising post at New York University, which at the time struggled financially and had a small endowment. Over the next 20 years, with Levine at the head of the fundraising efforts, the university raised more than $2 billion in donations.

After stepping down from her fundraising post as a senior vice president, Levine helped form the George H. Heyman Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, where she taught a graduate course in fundraising. She retired from the university in 2004 at the age of 81.