Bill Brandt receives the 46th Leadership in Credit Education Award at the New York Institute of Credit's 102nd Annual Banquet

June 6, 2022

In addition to leading DSI for 47 years, Mr. Brandt has been a dedicated advocate and supporter of higher education. Recently, he served as Chairman of the National Advisory Council for the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California Berkeley (2006-2018). From 2007-2016 he also served on the Board of Trustees at Loyola University Chicago. Simultaneously, Mr. Brandt served as Chair of the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA, 2008-2012) one of the nation’s largest state-sponsored self-financed entities principally engaged in issuing taxable and tax-exempt bonds, making loans and investing capital for business, nonprofit organizations and local governments. Under his guidance and with the support of the Illinois State Legislature and Governor, Mr. Brandt fostered a “first in the country” interest-free medical school education loans program to cover medical school tuition for undocumented Illinois DACA students (Dreamers). In exchange, upon receiving their medical degrees from any certified medical school in the United States, these new doctors are committed to return to Illinois and spend four years practicing medicine in underserved communities.

Mr. Brandt holds a BA with honors in Sociology and Urban Affairs from Saint Louis University and a MA in Sociology from the University of Chicago where he also completed doctoral coursework, all but the dissertation. He also served as a faculty member of the College of DuPage and Thornton Community College, as a well as a visiting research associate at Harvard University.