Richard Smith, M.A. '78, Ph.D. '79

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Richard Smith, M.A. '78, Ph.D. '79, has self-published a new novel, "Within the Ivory Tower," a satirical look inside institutions of higher education.

A synopsis of the book:

Baird University, a highly regarded private university with a liberal arts tradition, is facing increasingly intense competitive pressure from peer and rival schools. The School is now at a turning point and must either make significant cuts or find a new path to success. With few exceptions, no one seems to have the willpower to make the hard choices.

Smith is also co-author of several books on entrepreneurial finance: "Entrepreneurial Finance" (Wiley, 2020, 2004), "Entrepreneurial Finance: Strategy, Valuation, and Deal Structure" (Stanford University Press, 2011) and "Entrepreneurial Finance: Venture Capital, Deal Structure, and Valuation" (Stanford University Press, 2019). Smith’s main research interests are in the area of entrepreneurial finance, private equity, and initial public offerings. He has over 50 academic articles related to his main research interests, including publications in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Finance, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Corporate Finance and others. He has consulted extensively on matters related to valuation, pension investing, entrepreneurial finance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions

Smith holds the Philip L. Boyd Chair of Finance at the University of California, Riverside. Prior to joining UCR he held the Ralph W. Leatherby Chair of Entrepreneurship and Private Equity at Chapman University, after having been Associate Dean and Professor of Financial Management at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management of Claremont Graduate University (CGU), where he also served as Director of the Venture Finance Institute and of the School’s Financial Engineering Program.

Before returning to California, Smith served on the faculty of Arizona State University and also served on the Investment Committee of the ASU Foundation, which was the vehicle for managing the school’s endowment. During that time, he was engaged by the Arizona State Senate to assess the performance of the pension fund managed by the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS). He subsequently was appointed by the Governor of Arizona to serve on the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) of the ASRS.

Smith earned his master's degree in economics and his doctorate in management from UCLA Anderson School of Management.