YOUNGSTOWN — Betty Jo Licata is retiring after more than 26 years as dean of Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration.

Licata will retire Dec. 31. A nationwide search for a replacement will begin soon, said Brien Smith, YSU provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

“Dr. Licata’s leadership of her college and across the campus and community has been nothing short of astounding,” he said.

YSU President Jim Tressel added: “Dr. Licata elevated the Williamson College to new heights, recruiting talented faculty, establishing strong partnerships and producing graduates who have gone on to leadership positions across the business spectrum.”

“Of course, it is working with our students that brings the greatest joy, and I will truly miss watching them grow and succeed,” Licata said Wednesday in a letter to Smith and Tressel.

After earning a Ph.D. in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Licata was associate dean and director of graduate programs at Ohio University and then dean of the Dahlkemper School of Business Administration at Gannon University before coming to YSU in 1995.

As Williamson College of Business Administration dean, she spearheaded planning and construction of the new Williamson Hall, a 110,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building. The college established the Center for Nonprofit Leadership, the Entrepreneurship Center, Center for Career Management, Student Services Center, Business Leaders Program and Student Leadership Council. The college expanded its Ohio Small Business Development Center, Export Assistance Network and Procurement Technical Assistance Center, as well as its Global Learning Experiences program, Center of Excellence in International Business and the Williamson Center for International Business.

Licata has served as board chair of the Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber Athena Committee and Mercy Health-Youngstown.