Dean Of The Year: H. Rao Unnava Of UC-Davis Graduate School Of Management

H. Rao Unnava is Poets&Quants Dean of the Year in 2024

Ask H. Rao Unnava how eight years as dean of UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management has changed him and he will give you the self-effacing answer that defines his leadership approach.

“After coming to UC Davis I found more joy in what I do,” explains Unnava who had spent 32 years at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business before arriving on the Sacramento campus in June of 2016. “People are laidback and have fun. They push things forward. At UC Davis, they are still steeped in academic values. It humbles you quite a bit to be surrounded by the people here.”

As a person, he adds, Unnava sees things differently now than he did in the past. “My personal growth has been in understanding people a lot more and seeing things from their perspective. I have tried to design things that help both the institutions and the people working here—not at the expense of people.”

A CALMING PRESENCE LEADING A REVOLUTION IN INNOVATION

Unnava exudes a naturally calming presence while leading a revolution in innovation over his more than eight years as dean. Under his leadership, the school became the first University of California business school to launch an online MBA as well as a Master’s in Management, the first to create credit-bearing stackable credentials that can be applied toward a degree program, the first to make all of its online content available to alumni for free, the first to launch a deferred tuition plan for online MBA candidates, and the first UC Davis dean to accomplish what many believed to be impossible, launching an undergraduate business major in partnership with to partner with two other Davis colleges.

Unnava has also aggressively promoted the thought leadership of his faculty and created innovative industry immersions that permit deep, experiential dives into the school’s strengths in biotechnology, food and agriculture, and sustainable energy. The end result: Nearly 70% of this year’s 441 incoming graduate students are in programs created under his watch. That is more than double the new students that arrived in existing programs when he joined UC Davis.

“The number of initiatives that we have launched is remarkable especially when you throw in a pandemic in between,” says Stephanie Young-Birkle, assistant dean for innovation. “He is always thinking about the next step and he might not know it. And then this idea will come out. One of the reasons is his respect for individuals. He has built very positive relationships on campus. The first word that comes to mind is what you see is what you get. He is very genuine, incredibly kind, and he cares about the well-being of others.”

No less crucial, he has turned the school’s small size into a strength. In the industry immersions, for example, graduate and PhD students from other disciplines are invited to work with MBA students on project teams to work on corporate assignments. He has also partnered with several other schools on campus to leverage their strengths in such areas as agriculture and veterinary medicine. And he has invested in the most dynamic alumni platforms in business education to build community among current and former students and faculty.

‘ONE OF THE MOST SELFLESS PEOPLE YOU CAN IMAGINE’

A soft-spoken, humble leader, he has cultivated a culture of comfortable conviviality among faculty and staff. Yet, Unnava has managed to drive change at a dizzying pace in one of the most process-driven and bureaucratic of university systems. His unwavering ability to handle the inevitable frustrations of a deanship with patience and determination characterizes his leadership style. As a leader, Unnava is the ultimate contradiction: A hard-driving change agent who is as calm and clear-minded as a Pujari or Hindu priest. It is also the secret to his success.

“He is one of the most selfless people you can imagine,” confirms UC Davis Provost Mary Croughan. “He is always thinking about what is best for the students, faculty, and UC Davis. And he comes forward with creative and very innovative ideas of how to address the needs of students and faculty.”

For his ambitious change agenda and decisive unpresuming leadership, Poets&Quants has named Unnava the Dean of the Year for 2024. The 65-year-old one-time marketing professor is the 14th dean to earn this honor, joining a stellar cast of academic talent over the years that has included the leaders of Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Yale School of Management, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business, and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and IE Business School in Spain (see table below).

Deans of the Year: Berkeley Haas Dean Ann Harrison (top row left), UVA Darden’s Scott Beardsley, Toronto Rotman’s Roger Martin, Dartmouth Tuck’s Paul Danos, Northwestern Kellogg’s Sally Blount, Yale’s ‘Ted’ Snyder (second row left), UC Davis Graduate School of Management Dean Rao Unnava, Indiana University Kelley School of Business Idie Kesner, Foster School of Business Jim Jiambalvo, Darden’s Robert Bruner, Stanford GSB Dean Jonathan Levin (bottom left), IE Business School’s Santiago Iñiguez, University of Illinois Gies Dean Jeffrey Brown, and Harvard Business School’s Nitin Nohria.

Poets&Quants’ Deans Of The Year