$1.05M to Support UMD Department of Mathematics and its Graduate Students
A University of Maryland retired professor of mathematics and his wife made a $1 million bequest to the Department of Mathematics to help ensure the university remains at the forefront of mathematics and related emerging fields. An additional $50,000 gift established the C. David and Lucia Levermore Endowed Graduate Student Support Fund in Mathematics.
For Charles David Levermore and his wife, Lucia, supporting the future of mathematics means preparing faculty and students to respond to a rapidly evolving landscape. Levermore, who taught at UMD for more than two decades and was the founding director of the applied mathematics & statistics, and scientific computation (AMSC) graduate program, pointed to artificial intelligence (AI) as one example of a related emerging field reshaping the discipline.
“The technology is still maturing. No one knows how it's all going to sort out,” Levermore said. “The only way we can be productive is to be on top of it as much as possible. We have to rethink things constantly. The gift is a small contribution to the university's effort to keep itself relevant.”
The Levermores’ philanthropy supports Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless, the largest fundraising initiative in the university’s history with a goal to raise $2.5 billion to expand access to UMD’s first-rate education, spur transformative research and create stronger communities.
Their planned gift leverages the college's Bequest Legacy Challenge, an incentive program that provides an immediate cash match for donors who document new or increased planned commitments to the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS).
“Professor Levermore really is a staple of this department. He retired several years ago officially, but he never really retired,” said Doron Levy, chair of the Department of Mathematics. “He's genuinely a true educator, someone who cares a lot about the educational mission of the institution and is always trying to figure out how to do things better.”
The Levermores’ new fund will benefit the department’s nearly 200 graduate students, providing them with resources to attend conferences, acquire materials for dissertation research, and take part in internships, extracurricular activities and other enriching opportunities.
Strengthening the department’s graduate programs in mathematics, mathematical statistics and AMSC remains one of Levy’s top priorities. Graduate education plays a major role in shaping the department’s national reputation, he said, and Maryland’s momentum is evident: Four students received National Science Foundation graduate research fellowships this year alone.
The strength is also reflected in national rankings. Maryland’s graduate programs rank No. 7 in mathematics, No. 8 in applied math and No. 10 in analysis among public institutions, according to U.S. News & World Report.
“Our department has been on an upward trajectory in terms of its visibility to the mathematical community,” said Levy, highlighting how the recently endowed Brin Mathematics Research Center hosts workshops, summer schools and distinguished lectures year-round with participants from around the world.
By investing in the department and its graduate programs, the Levermores are helping ensure that this momentum continues even as the field evolves. With so much uncertainty around how AI may reshape both mathematics education and research, the couple wanted its gifts to be flexible enough to meet the department’s most pressing needs.
“The Levermores' generosity will have a lasting impact on Maryland mathematics,” CMNS Dean Amitabh Varshney said. “Their investment will elevate our graduate programs and help position the department for continued leadership in new frontiers of mathematics.”
