Richard Gambitta
Longtime faculty member named Goodwill Industries board chair
(March 19, 2003)--Richard Gambitta, chair of the Department of Political Science and Geography at The University of Texas at San Antonio, is taking on additional duties off-campus as the new chair of the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of San Antonio.
One of the largest not-for-profit organizations in the city, Goodwill Industries centers its mission on empowering people to achieve their optimal potential through employment and participation in the community. The agency helps participants deal with homelessness, illiteracy, drug abuse, welfare dependency and disabilities.
A UTSA faculty member since 1976, Gambitta served as graduate adviser of record for the Division of Social and Policy Sciences and coordinator of both the political science and public administration faculties. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University.
He served as the first Fulbright Scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1984-85) and in 1990 was named a Minnie Stevens Piper Professor for distinguished teaching and scholarship. Gambitta heads UTSA's new Institute for Law and Public Affairs.
Goodwill Industries of San Antonio has provided intensive employment services to more than 20,000 people since 1989. Chartered in Texas in 1945, the advocate agency coordinates a supportive network of social service, health care, governmental and business entities, and participates in community partnerships to improve access to resources.
Goodwill Industries International was founded in 1902 by Edgar James Helms, a Boston minister, who distributed donated clothing for a modest price from his church. The concept expanded when he paid a wage to people who repaired items to be sold. With the profits, he established job-training programs.
Today, Goodwill Industries International is the world's largest not-for-profit provider of vocational rehabilitation services with 183 autonomous organizations in the U.S., seven in Canada and 45 organizations in 34 other countries.
Goodwill Industries International Web
site
Goodwill Industries of
San Antonio Web site
Read
more about Richard Gambitta at the College of Liberal and Fine Arts department
chairs site.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003