David W. Springer
Inducted in 2022
Current Position
Professor and Director of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community ServiceEducation
PhD, MSWDavid W. Springer, Ph.D., is the director of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service and a university distinguished teaching professor at the University of Texas at Austin. After receiving his Ph.D. in social work from Florida State University, he joined the faculty at UT Austin in 1997. Springer began his career as a clinical social worker with adolescents and their families. Bridging direct practice and public policy, his research and teaching coalesce around effective leadership, nonprofits and systems to strengthen communities. He leads the RGK Center team in preparing the next generation of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders. He serves on several national and local nonprofit boards and provides executive leadership training and mentoring for nonprofit professionals.
Springer has been recognized for his leadership in the field and impact on society: Nonprofit Times Power & Influence Top 50, a national list of the top working executives in the nonprofit sector; fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research; among the 100 most influential social work journal authors by the British Journal of Social Work; and distinguished alumni in social policy and administration by the Florida State University College of Social Work.