This fund was established by David H. Levin in 1996 to support teaching, research and programs in the Rubin O’D Askew Institute.

Levin was born on November 19, 1928 and was a lifelong resident of Pensacola. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University in 1949 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a Basic Airman, although he was an attorney and worked for the JAG. He earned a law degree from the University of Florida in 1952, where he graduated second in his class. While at UF, Levin was involved in Florida Blue Key, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Alpha Delta.

After graduating, Levin co-founded the law firm, Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Echsner & Proctor, PA, along with lifelong friend Reubin Askew, where he specialized in divorce cases. Levin is the former president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and former chairman of Florida’s old Pollution Control Board, serving from 1971 to 1974 and taking the lead in tackling pollution problems in Pensacola Bay and throughout the state. He was listed as one of the top 100 U.S. lawyers by Town and Country magazine. Also, among his list of accomplishments is being credited with encouraging Dallas Cowboys’ Emmitt Smith to attend UF.

Levin had one daughter, Lisa. He passed away January 7, 2002, in Pensacola, FL.