Faculty Profile

Profile

Tom Smith

Interim Dean

Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Theory and Policy, Pennsylvania State University, 2000
Catholic University of America, Washington DC, Master of Arts, Sociology, 1995
Columbia University, New York, NY, Master of Arts, Economics, 1991
University of California, Los Angeles, Bachelor of Arts, Economics (Summa Cum Laude), 1988

Tom Smith is a highly accomplished researcher, educator, and leader with more than 30 years of experience in education, and has held several leadership roles at UC Riverside, including interim provost and executive vice chancellor, dean of the Graduate School of Education, and

Yan Luo

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Yan Luo

Visiting Professor

PhD in Accounting, Queens University

Research Expertise
Auditing, Ethics in Accounting, Corporate Governance

Muneet Bains

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Muneet Bains

Lecturer

Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc), UC Davis
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Business Administration, Accounting, CSU Chico

Muneet Bains is a lecturer at the University of California, Davis, with professional experience spanning public accounting and corporate financial reporting. In addition to teaching, she currently serves as a manager of financial reporting and technical accounting, where she specializes in complex accounting issues, financial statement preparation and technical guidance.

Prior to this role, Bains worked as a senior assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where

Kevin Shinseki

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Kevin Shinseki

Lecturer

MBA, University of California, Davis
B.S. Electrical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Davis

Areas of Expertise
Management & Organizations, Technology Management

Lecturer Kevin Shinseki brings more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector, with deep expertise in product management, product strategy, new venture development and business operations. His career spans senior leadership roles at high-growth startups and global enterprise software companies, where he has led product innovation, organizational transformation and market expansion.

Shin

Poets&Quants Honors Dean H. Rao Unnava with Lifetime Achievement Award

News

Poets&Quants Honors Dean H. Rao Unnava with Lifetime Achievement Award

Award for leadership recognizes his enduring humanity

Source: Poets&Quants

During his decade of leadership, Unnava has transformed UC Davis from a quietly ambitious regional business school into a nationally distinctive player that punches far above its weight in innovation, inclusion, and impact.

Mike Kourey

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Mike Kourey

Robert A. Fox Executive in Residence

Meet Mike Kourey, a veteran Silicon Valley technology executive with extensive experience as a chief financial officer (CFO), board member, and audit chair. Kourey is serving as this year's Robert A. Fox Executive in Residence.

Meet the Professors Who Will Inspire Your Business School Journey

Beth Betchky standing in Gallagher Hallway

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Meet the Professors Who Will Inspire Your Business School Journey

Watch the "We Are GSM" video series

Meet the UC Davis Graduate School of Management faculty who are redefining how we understand work, decision-making and organizational behavior—and discover how their research shapes real-world impact. Watch "We Are GSM"

Heidi Stevens

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Heidi Stevens

Lecturer

MBA, UC Davis Graduate School of Management

Areas of Expertise
Accounting, Finance, Management & Organizations

Lecturer Heidi Stevens brings 20 years of experience in financial reporting and strategy. She has led high-impact technology transformation projects, corporate acquisitions and capital allocation strategies for companies in insurance, banking and technology. Stevens has an MBA from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, B.S. Business Administration, Accountancy from California State University, Sacramento and holds an active CPA license.

Two Esteemed Professors to Retire from the Graduate School of Management

Professors David Woodruff and Hollis Skaife ham it up at their retirement celebration

News

Two Esteemed Professors to Retire from the Graduate School of Management

David Woodruff and Hollis Skaife conclude decades of impact in operations research, accounting and academic leadership

The two internationally renowned senior faculty members will retire from their academic roles on July 1, 2025. Each leaves a legacy of scholarship, mentorship and service that has shaped the School and influenced their respective fields.

Catherine Kendall

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Catherine Kendall

Lecturer

Doctor of Education (EdD) in Education Policy, Drexel University, 2014
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management Information Systems, University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management, 1999
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Agricultural and Managerial Economics, University of California, Davis, 1993

Research Expertise
Macroeconomic history and trends, Domestic violence and marginalized populations, Intersectionality, Socio-ecological framework

Areas of Expertise
Economics, Management & Organizations, Technology Management

Catherine Kendall has worked in the information technology

Eric Liederman

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Eric Liederman

Lecturer

M.D., Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 1989
M.P.H, Health Policy and Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1996
B.A., Classical Archaeology, Dartmouth College, 1984

Research Expertise
Health Economics, Clinical Informatics, Medical Operations, Privacy and Security, Patient messaging

Areas of Expertise
Business Analytics, Management & Organizations, Technology Management

Dr. Eric Liederman serves as CEO of CyberSolutionsMD, LLC, a digital health, privacy, security and IT resilience consultancy. He previously served as director of medical informatics and national

Sabid Rahman

Profile

Sabid Rahman

Lecturer

PhD in Computer Science, University of California Davis, 2020
MS in Computer Science, University of Texas San Antonio, 2014

Research Expertise
AI for Business, Business Analytics, AI Policy and Governance, AI Ethics

Sabid Rahman is an award-winning computer scientist, technology leader, and pioneer in business automation using artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI. A former professor of computer science and software engineer, Rahman has more than 13 years of experience delivering production-grade, large-scale AI, machine learning, and software solutions. His work has focused on

Naga Lakshmi Damaraju

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Naga Lakshmi Damaraju

Lecturer

Ph.D. in business administration, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, 2008

Research Expertise
Investment and divestment strategies, corporate governance, entrepreneurship, cultural influences on strategy and entrepreneurship

Area of Expertise
Management & Organizations

Naga Lakshmi Damaraju teaches competitive strategy and corporate strategy courses focusing on the sustainability of competitive advantage of firms in single and multiple lines of businesses. She served as a resource faculty for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Entrepreneurs program in India and was involved in

Ed Arnheiter

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Ed Arnheiter

Lecturer

Ph.D., Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1997
M.S., Engineering Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1994
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Union College (NY), 1983

Research Expertise
Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, Quality Control, Continuous Improvement

Areas of Expertise
Business Analytics, Operations Management, Statistics

Ed Arnheiter possesses a unique combination of industrial, consulting, and higher education experience spanning a 30-year period. He is currently a lecturer with the GSM, teaching Data Analysis for Managers and Managing

UC Davis Professor Named to New CSBS Scholars Program

News

UC Davis Professor Named to New CSBS Scholars Program

Professor Robert Marquez: Leading expert in banking and corporate finance

Source: CSBS: Conference of State Bank Supervisors

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) named Professor Marquez among five scholars to advance research on critical issues related to the nation's dual-banking system, community banking, financial services innovation and economic growth.

Helen Shuxuan Zeng

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Helen Shuxuan Zeng

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
M.A., Columbia University
B.Sc., the University of Hong Kong

Research Expertise
Digital Economics, Technology and Policy

Areas of Expertise
Economics, Technology Management

Helen Zeng's research lies at the intersection of digital economics, technology, and policy. Her research vision is to bridge technology and policy by engaging firms, institutions, and regulators in understanding how to create and deliver “virtuous" digital products for business and society. Her work aims to explore the role of stakeholder accountability in the context of new

Sebastian Calonico

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Sebastian Calonico

Assistant Professor

Ph.D. in Economics, University of Michigan, 2014
M.A. in Statistics, University of Michigan, 2012

Research Expertise
Program Evaluation, Causal Inference Methodology, Robust statistical inference, Nonparametric Methods, Data Science

Sebastian Calonico is an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis. His research combines econometrics and data science to develop and apply novel statistical methods aimed at addressing key issues in public and health policy and business analytics, with a particular interest in program evaluation and causal inference methodology.

Calonico's

Bita Hajihashemi

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Bita Hajihashemi

Assistant Professor

Ph.D. in Quantitative Marketing, Foster School of Business, University of Washington, 2023
B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, 2016

Research Expertise
Personalized and Targeted Marketing, CRM, Complaint Management, Loyalty Programs

Bita Hajihashemi's research interests span two major domains:

The applications and impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing, particularly personalization and targeted marketing.
Customer relationship management, relationship marketing, complaint management, and effective loyalty program and retention strategies.

She

Kayla S. Stajkovic

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Kayla S. Stajkovic

Lecturer

Ph.D., Organizational Behavior, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2018

Research Expertise: gender, race, leadership effectiveness, goals, self-efficacy, confidence, work motivation

Kayla S. Stajkovic is a lecturer at the University of California, Davis, which she joined in 2022. She was formerly a visiting professor at UC Davis and an assistant professor at Edgewood College, where she significantly contributed to business, communication, and accounting programs. She is a contributing board member at the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Stajkovic studies diversity and leadership effectiveness

Yuan Yuan

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Yuan Yuan

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Social & Engineering Systems, MIT
Bachelor, Computer Science & Economics, Tsinghua University

Research Expertise: Computational Social Science, Causal Inference, Social Networks

Yuan Yuan is a computational social scientist and an assistant professor in business analysis at UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Specializing in social networks, Yuan expertly harnesses big data and advanced computational methodologies, such as machine learning and causal inference, to scrutinize behavior and dynamics within social and organizational networks. His expertise extends to experimentation