Dr. Hibbard E. Williams, dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis, since 1980, has decided to leave that post on Sept. 1, 1992 "to return to my first loves in academic medicine: teaching and research." Under Williams' guidance, the school has grown from a faculty of 260 to 375, and from a staff of 500 to more than 1,200. The school's student body has also undergone considerable change: underrepresented minorities now comprise 22.5 percent of the incoming class, compared to 3 percent in 1980-81. Contracts and grants have also climbed considerably this past decade: from $11.7 million annually to $48 million. Williams also helped develop recently a financial plan for the first of three permanent Sacramento medical research facilities. Scheduled to be completed in 1992 at a cost of $7.4 million, the initial building will provide 32,580 square feet of research and administrative space for UC Davis Medical Center physicians. "The 1980s were a period of unparalleled opportunity for the school, and I'm proud and pleased to have been a part of that growth and development," Williams said. "I'll certainly miss assisting, as dean, in its further maturation, but I welcome the opportunity to continue to contribute as a faculty member." Williams is a professor of internal medicine. "Academic medicine is changing dramatically -- nationally, as well as here," Williams said. "Deans need to address issues of health care delivery, reimbursement and competition, with a faculty of multi-specialty practitioners. These issues will benefit from the insights and ideas new leadership would bring." UC Davis Chancellor Theodore L. Hullar praised Williams' "mature, thoughtful and perceptive leadership that has guided and enhanced the school in every facet of academic medicine and health care." He said Williams had long intended to spend just a decade as dean. "We've been successful in keeping him engaged for an additional two years," Hullar said. "I feel keen sadness and disappointment to be losing such a close and valued administrative colleague but I'm very pleased he'll continue his research and teaching. Everyone would like him to stay for a long, long time." Williams was recruited to UC Davis from Cornell University Medical College in New York, where he was professor and chair as well as physician-in-chief of the Department of Medicine at the New York Hospital. For 13 years prior, he was at UC San Francisco, both on the teaching faculty and in administrative posts, including chief of the division of medical genetics. He also was chief of medical services for San Francisco General Hospital from 1970 to 1978, the year he moved to Cornell. A specialist in internal medicine, Williams has published widely, particularly on causes, diagnosis and treatment of kidney stones. A 1954 graduate of Cornell University, he also earned his M.D. degree there, in 1958, and served his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also was a clinical associate with the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases from 1960 to 1962, and is certified as a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He has received several awards, including the Kaiser Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, the UC Alumni-Faculty Association Distinguished Faculty Award and the U.S. Public Health Service Career Development Award. He has also been a John and Mary R. Markle Scholar in Medicine. Williams' professional affiliations are numerous. He is currently a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges' Executive Council and Council of Deans Administrative Board; chair of the California Area Health Education Center's Council of Deans; president of the Yolo County Medical Society; and board member of the California Medical Association and of the Audio Digest Foundation. He also has assumed leadership roles within the American College of Physicians, American Board of Internal Medicine, Western Association of Physicians and the California Academy of Medicine. A national search for Williams' successor will begin immediately.