* Robert Monks, a dissident shareholder who...

* Robert Monks, a dissident shareholder who has been trying to get on the board of directors of Sears, Roebuck & Co., said he is withdrawing his name because Sears has made his election mathematically unattainable.

Instead, Monks said, he will “vocally and financially” support various shareholder resolutions, including a proposal instructing Sears management to hire an independent panel to study selling off its financial businesses to shareholders.

The businesses, Monks said, may be worth a great deal more “if they weren’t supporting a struggling retailer.”

Monks, who got 12% of the vote for a board seat in 1991, contended that Sears last year reduced its board from 15 to 10 members and dropped the number of seats to be filled from five to three to stop his candidacy.

“This year, by not proposing any new candidate for a vacant seat, they shrunk their board again. This leaves only three directors to be elected in 1992, making my candidacy mathematically in-achievable,” he said.

Monks, who owns 100 shares of Sears common stock, said he has no plans to accumulate additional shares. Sears stock closed down 75 cents at $46.50 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sears declined to comment on Monk’s actions.