After serving the Yale University for two decades, Richard C. Levine has announced his plans to step down from his post after the completion of the current academic year.

Levin, 63, is planning to write a book after his retirement.

"I look forward to a sabbatical next year, when at last I will have the time to complete a book of reflections on higher education and economic policy," he said to Reuters.

Levine is the longest serving president in the Ivy League or the 61-member Association of American Universities. He took the helm of the university in 1993 and improved Yale's programs especially in the fields of science, engineering and medicine. He is also been credited with transforming Yale's physical campus with the largest building and renovation program since the 1930s.

The university also cites him as the reason for the increase in Yale's financial aid from $3.2 billion in 1993 when Levin was named president to $19.4 billion this year, reports AP. Levin helped raise more than $7 billion during his reign, university officials said.

"It is a source of great satisfaction to leave Yale in much stronger condition -- academically, physically, and financially -- than it was when I began in 1993," Levin said.

From improving the university's historically difficult relationship with its unions and building partnerships with New Haven to spearheading the establishment of new Yale-National University of Singapore campus, Levine drastically changed the image of Yale. Yale's Singapore venture will begin next year.

Yale Trustee Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo., has hailed Levine as 'one of the world's great leaders' in the statement issued by the university. She also said, "He has been transformational in envisioning how a university should be a leading citizen in its home community, and he has boldly staked out how the leading universities should become global institutions. His example has been a guide for how universities around the world can have a much greater impact."

Levin has a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in economics from Yale. He taught economics at Yale before becoming chairman of the Yale's Economics Department and later the president.