Daughter Establishes Endowed Scholarship at Whitman to Remember Father’s “Grit and Determination” to Become CPA

Hyman Levitz was born in 1914 and grew up in the Jewish ghettos of Syracuse’s 15th Ward. Syracuse University was in his backyard but was worlds away from the poverty where he lived. At a young age, Levitz dreamed of obtaining a college degree and becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

His daughter, Johanna Nathanson G’21 (IST) also has her dreams making sure her father’s “grit and determination” are never forgotten on the Syracuse University campus through the establishment of the $125,000 Howard D. Lane Endowed Scholarship at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management.

Levitz was one of four children born to uneducated, Jewish immigrant laborers. Life was not easy for his family, and they endured hardship after hardship. Levitz knew education was his only way out. He studied hard and graduated with honors from the city of Syracuse’s Central High School in 1932. His efforts earned him a New York State Scholastic Ability scholarship and entrance to Syracuse University as an accounting major at the age of 18. In June 1933, just as he completed his first year with 32 credit hours, his mother died unexpectantly, leaving him with the responsibility of caring for his family. Levitz had neither the time nor money to continue his college education. 

Still determined to become a CPA, Levitz, in his mid-20s, returned to Syracuse University. He re-enrolled through the School of Extension Teaching and Adult Education but under a new name: Howard D. Lane. Antisemitism was rampant, and he decided to change his name to something more “Americanized.” Lane took one course at a time, while keeping careful tuition records, including receipts showing he often paid the University in $5 increments. In conjunction with his studies, he was gaining professional experience by conducting bookkeeping, accounting and audit services for local businesses. 

Documents from the 1930s and 1940s, includes $5 receipts and other correspondence with Syracuse University and Virginia State Board of Accountancy.

While he made good progress both professionally and academically, Lane left Syracuse University without completing his accounting degree. In 1941, he took up residence in Virginia, a state that allowed him to sit for the CPA exam without a college degree. By mid-November of that year, he took the exam. He was notified on Dec. 5, 1941, that he passed Practical Accounting, Auditing and Law but not Theory. Two days later, Pearl Harbor was attacked, and the United States entered World War II. 

Lane soon found himself in Utah auditing a defense contract to support the war effort. He immediately petitioned the Virginia State Board of Accountancy to allow him to re-take Theory under Utah’s jurisdiction. In his letters to the Virginia board, he revealed his personal motive. “This exam means a great deal to me since the certificate has been an ambition of mine for the past ten years,” he noted. Sadly, his petition was denied. Lane had no choice but to return to Virginia to sit for Theory. In November 1942, Lane boarded a train from Utah for the four-day journey to Virginia. Determined, he passed his final section, becoming a CPA at the age of 28—10 years after he first enrolled in Syracuse University.

Lane continued to serve in the war, and, once he returned to civilian life, he held various accounting jobs, ultimately becoming a partner at the firm of Robert Phillipson and Company in Washington, D.C.

Despite Lane never completing his four-year bachelor’s degree, earning his CPA provided him with a successful accounting career, pulling him out of the poverty he grew up in as a child. Lane paid his success forward to his family, including Nathanson, giving them the financial stability of a middle-class lifestyle.

“Syracuse University was so important to my father, and it is sad that he never completed his college degree because it was a symbol of the American dream for him,” explains Nathanson, who earned a master’s degree in information management, as well as a certificate in data science, from Syracuse University’s School of Information and Technology (IST), and today is an investigator for the U.S. State Department. “Earning my master’s degree from Syracuse felt like fulfilling my father’s legacy, and it also gave me a sense of responsibility to help others receive opportunities that might not otherwise be possible.”

“I hope the scholarship will ensure that students in need can avoid some of the pain points that my dad had to go through and continue on the path to graduation,” she adds. “And, I want first-generation students to see that a college education is possible, while also reminding Syracuse alumni who have prospered that there are plenty of rising young students out there who could use their help, too.”

Starting with this fall’s incoming class, for five years a $5,000 scholarship will annually be given to a first-generation Whitman student studying accounting who has financial need with things like transportation, books, experiential learning activities or even food, totaling $25,000. The remaining $100,000 is a bequest to the Whitman School that will add to the scholarship and provide future support.

“We are grateful to Johanna Nathanson for sharing the story of her father’s commitment to Syracuse University and honoring his memory with a gift to the Whitman School that will help first-generation students like Howard Lane,” says Michael Paulus, assistant dean for advancement and external engagement. “The generosity and support of family and alumni allow the Whitman School to assist students in need with a financial boost that often makes a real difference in their success—both while in school and well into their careers.