When Dr. Joe Silva accepted the job as dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine in 1997, one of his colleagues called him a "reluctant warrior."

At the time, Silva himself admitted he looked forward to the day when he could devote himself to the jobs he loves most: teaching young men and women to be doctors, and taking care of patients.

That day is almost at hand. After almost seven years of 12-hour days, Silva announced last week that he will step down from his high-profile $395,000-per-year job as medical school dean and CEO of the UC Davis Health System and resume his faculty position. He said he will remain in the top post until June 2005 or until his replacement can be found.

"I have carried the place along as much as I can, and I think it's time for new people with new ideas to come in," he said in interview from New Jersey, where was visiting his mother and other relatives.

While Silva may not have relished taking the helm at the UC Davis medical school, by all accounts he has been a skillful and dedicated navigator. His supporters say that, at a time of surging health care costs and increasing government regulations, he helped make the UC Davis Health System work more efficiently while building its reputation as a medical school and research institution.

"There has been a dramatic increase in research funds, a consolidation of the school and health system and a much improved administrative and financial support structure," said Dr. James Goodnight Jr., chairman of the surgery department at UC Davis Medical Center.

Under Silva's leadership, for example, more than 100 new doctors have joined the faculty, many bringing fresh expertise to the research programs.

"It's helped everyone," Silva said. "These highly specialized faculty members have sufficient numbers of patients to keep our competency up and to drive clinical research and our teaching."

Research funding for the medical school more than doubled during Silva's tenure, from $44.3 million in fiscal year 1997-1998 to $102 million as of the end of November last year.

Silva's efforts helped win the university's cancer center a designation from the National Cancer Institute two years ago, a feat that boosts prestige and helps attract more money and well-known researchers to the center.

"We have come in out of the cold," said Goodnight.

Silva, who will be 63 on Sunday, is a bear of a man. At a robust 6 feet 5 inches tall, he finds it hard to escape notice on campus. But colleagues say his high rank and physical stature belie his open, jovial and modest nature.

"He always asks, 'How's your family?' " said Dr. Stuart Cohen, an infectious-disease doctor who has known him since Silva arrived at UC Davis. "He thinks about you more as a person than just another employee."

Robert Chason, the chief executive over the medical center who has worked in tandem with Silva, recalled that during a staff Christmas party at Chason's home, Silva spent most of the evening in the kitchen, learning to cook new dishes with Chason's son.

Silva was recruited from the University of Michigan to Davis' internal medicine department in 1982. He brought to the university his expertise in infectious diseases, an area in which he has published more than 150 journal articles and written dozens of chapters in medical books.

He became chairman of the internal medicine department in 1983. As a teacher, Cohen recalled, Silva was revered - and feared.

"The residents were all petrified about having to present cases to him," he said. "He would always ask them something they wouldn't have thought about. It was a lesson in paying attention to detail."

Silva still sees a handful of patients and, until last year, maintained a laboratory where he researched a lethal form of colon disease caused by bacteria.

Silva is still active in research projects overseas. Born into a family of Belarussian ancestry, Silva makes annual visits to medical schools in Russia and Poland to help graduate students with their infectious disease studies.

"He is a hero over there," said Dr. Frederick Meyers, chairman of the internal medicine department and a longtime friend of Silva's. "Whenever he goes, he takes a sackful of eyeglasses and bags of food."

Silva has not forgotten needs at home, either, making two recent bequests to UC Davis. Concerned about a $7,000 increase in annual medical school tuition, Silva updated his will to include a significant sum for medical school scholarships.

"And if I precede my wife in death, she knows to send my body over to the medical school," he said, referring to his second bequest.

Despite visions of more fishing and reading after he steps down as dean, Silva shows no signs of slowing down.

Though he'll tell you, "This old camel has to go to pasture," he's got a long to-do list.

First, he wants to see that the university raises the money it needs to build a new medical school building, part of the transition of the academic program from the campus in Davis to Sacramento.

Silva also plans to put in more hours with the Department of Defense helping Russian scientists divert their talents away from building biological weapons and into more humanitarian work.

He also wants to do much more teaching at the medical school and write a book about the school's history.

Silva's tale will likely have a happy ending.

"These academic health centers are like a naval fleet," he said. "There are all kinds of boats in the water. It's a very complicated system. But the fleet is healthy, and riding high."