Steven Currall, a vice dean and faculty member who holds joint positions at University College London and the London Business School, has been appointed Dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

Currall, selected following an international search, will begin work July 1. He succeeds Nicole Woolsey Biggart, who announced in September that she is stepping down after six years as dean to return to full-time teaching and research.

At University College London, Currall is vice dean of enterprise and professor of management science and innovation. At the London Business School, he is visiting professor of organizational behavior and entrepreneurship and serves as faculty co-director of the Institute of Technology.

“Already a gem of a school, the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis is positioned for even greater visibility and impact on the state, national, and international stage,” Currall said. “My aim is to ensure that the Graduate School of Management is one of the truly great global business schools.”

“Steve Currall is the right person at the right time for our Graduate School of Management,” said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. “He is an academic entrepreneur, with an impressive record of achievement in raising visibility and generating resources for his prior universities. The school is certain to continue to grow in quality and stature under his leadership.”

At University College London, Currall was founding chair of the Department of Management Science and Innovation within the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. He founded UCL Advances, an entrepreneurship center. In addition, he served on the UCL Enterprise Board, which oversees technology commercialization activities for the college.

Start-up experience

Before joining UCL and London Business School, Currall was the William and Stephanie Sick Professor of Entrepreneurship at Rice University in Houston. He founded the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship during his tenure at the university. During the five years of his leadership, the alliance helped to launch more than 160 technology start-ups that together raised more than $300 million in equity capital and more than $4.5 million in external funding.

Currall’s research has been published in both management and science/engineering journals, including Organization Science, Nature Nanotechnology and the Journal of International Business Studies. He has served on the editorial review boards of five academic journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review and Organization Science.

He has been the recipient of $16.9 million in research funding, more than 80 percent of it from the National Science Foundation. He is a past member of the U.S. Nanotechnology Technical Advisory Group which provided input to the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Currall was listed among “Outstanding Faculty” in Business Week’s 1997 Guide to Best Business Schools. His other honors include Stanford University’s Price Foundation Innovative Entrepreneurship Educator Award and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Fundraising background

He has served on the boards of BioHouston, Leadership in Medicine Inc. and Nanotechnology Foundation of Texas.

Currall received his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, master’s degree at the London School of Economics and doctorate at Cornell University. Before attending graduate school, he worked as a professional fundraiser for Baylor University.

As dean, Currall’s annual salary will be $365,000. In keeping with UC policy, additional compensation will include a relocation allowance, participation in the Senior Management Supplemental Benefit Program, and eligibility for a Mortgage Origination Program loan. Additional details about his compensation will be available online, universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compensation/salaryactions.html.

For more information about the Graduate School of Management, visit www.gsm.ucdavis.edu