Professor emeritus Salvatore Divita died July 15 in Rockville, Md. The 81 year-old native of Brooklyn, N.Y. was battling cancer.

Divita began his 45-year career at GW in 1965 and was the “heart and soul” of the marketing department, professor Robert Dyer and department chair Vanessa Perry wrote in a joint tribute.

“When one thinks of Sal’s career as an academic, two words come to mind – passion and perseverance,” they wrote. “He was an extraordinary teacher, mentor, administrator, colleague and friend.”

Divita, an New York University graduate who later received his master’s in business administration from Ohio State University and a doctorate in business administration from Harvard Business School, first served as a professional lecturer before moving on to the position of associate professor in 1970. Four years later, he earned tenure.

Divita frequently wrote columns for Marketing News on personal marketing, and prior to arriving at GW, he worked at IBM for 10 years.

The long-serving professor was best known for his personal selling and sales management course, Perry said, and was an expert in understanding the link between personality and value systems and sales transactions.

“Anytime I meet an alum from the business school, they remember Dr. Divita, and how his course changed their way of understanding the business world,” she said. “Back when our offices were in Lisner Hall, he would invite his colleagues and students to chat with him at his ‘office,’ which was an area outside of the front door where he could smoke his pipe.”

Divita also served as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Rockville Chamber of Commerce. He served on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls clubs of Greater Washington and was a previous president of the St. Raphael’s Church Council.