Robert H. Smiley, dean of the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis, and ubiquitous university ambassador to the regional business community, has announced his intention to step down from his administrative post next July.

Smiley, who by then will have completed 13 years at the business school's helm, will complete a six-month sabbatical before returning to full-time teaching and research.

"When I began my term as dean, I had no idea I would serve as long as I have," said Smiley. "It was only because the school was having so much success that I decided to continue. But now I have decided to return to my teaching and scholarship, and I am confident that the school will be able to attract an excellent new leader."

Among Smiley's greatest accomplishments is the steady building of a superb, internationally known faculty. Under his leadership, the school introduced the Working Professional MBA program, became the youngest publicly supported business school to be ranked among the nation's top 20, and initiated the GSM Business Partners Program and the Executive-in-Residence Program. Smiley additionally developed an academic plan for the school that will allow a 30 percent expansion of the full-time-student program, introduced a technology management minor for undergraduates, and reduced the school's reliance on state funds from 90 percent in 1992 to 44 percent today.

"There is no doubt that Dean Smiley has taken the school to a significantly higher level during his tenure," said UC Davis Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef. "As important from my perspective, he has been a trusted leader and adviser among our vice chancellors and deans. The entire campus has benefited from Bob's wisdom."

A specialist in applied microeconomics, Smiley is expert in corporate strategy, regulation and anti-trust. Since joining UC Davis in 1989, he has specialized in the economics of the wine industry, delivering the keynote address at 10 successive wine industry financial symposiums. Throughout his career, he has performed consulting work for a wide variety of public- and private-sector businesses.

He is a member of numerous boards of directors, including Valley Vision, the M.I.N.D. Institute, the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, the Sacramento Valley Forum, Placer Sierra Bank, Calpine Container Inc. and Delicato Family Vineyards.

Smiley's work has been published in many of his field's top scholarly publications. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the national business education honorary association Beta Gamma Sigma, and the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics.

Previously, Smiley served as associate dean for academic affairs and professor of economics and policy at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and joined the New York Public Service Commission for one year as assistant to the chairman and director of research. He also served as a visiting professor of economics at Bocconi University in Milan, at the University of Pisa, and at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy. An engineer as well as an economist, he earlier worked in the engineering field for Martin Marietta Corp. and Hughes Aircraft Company.

Smiley received two degrees from UCLA, a bachelor's degree in engineering and a master's degree in business economics. He received a doctorate in economics from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

A national search for Smiley's successor will be initiated immediately.