Dr. Robert M. Smith, who led Husson’s graduate program in business for a quarter century, died Saturday after a short battle with esophageal cancer. Smith, a scholar in the fields of business, history and leadership, led the recent academic transition of Husson from a specialty business school to a comprehensive professional university.

“Bob Smith was a scholar, a wonderful colleague in every sense of the word, and a very special friend to many of us,” said William H. Beardsley, Husson president. “He has been our academic anchor to windward and set our academic course as we evolved as an institution.”

Smith, who also served as Husson chief academic officer since 1994, oversaw the addition of schools of health, education and science and humanities. Smith was a Maine native, graduating from John Bapst High School, Saint Anselm College, Brown University, the University of Maine and the Harvard Institute for Educational Leadership.