UVA Darden School Announces Philanthropic Support for and From Second Year Darden MBAs

01 May 2013

MBA students at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business recently applauded two of their own. First Year students Peter Neems and Drew Winston were awarded the 2013 Genovese Fellowship. Darden alumnus Frank Genovese (MBA ’74) announced the winners during First Coffee on Tuesday, 16 April 2013.

The Frank Genovese Fellowship helps propel its winners toward careers in business management or entrepreneurship. To date, 57 fellowships in the amount of $2.2 million have been awarded over the last 22 years, according to Genovese.

“So far, 79 percent of the 53 graduates who are out of school are already general managers or own their own businesses,” said Genovese as he described the purpose of the fellowship program.

Pictured with Genovese, Winston (left) and Neems (right) each received tuition to fund their Second Year of Darden’s MBA program.

“This will be incredibly helpful, and it’s very exciting,” said Neems, who, along with Winston, was chosen from among a distinguished group of finalists who ranked in the top 30 percent of their class at the culmination of their first semester. “Relieving the financial burden of Second Year tuition will allow me to invest further in myself and in my business.”

The merit-based award program requires finalists to participate in an interview.

“You think about the candidate pool and how competitive and talented everyone is at Darden to begin with, and to be whittled down to a small pool of finalists that is extraordinarily talented and gifted, to be named a finalist and ultimately win is just a tremendous honor,” Winston said.

An expert in entrepreneurship, acquisitions and turnarounds, Genovese is the president of The Rothbury Corporation, an investment company in Richmond, Virginia. He also taught the Darden MBA course “Acquisition of Closely Held Enterprises.”

He presents the fellowship award each April, a month when giving is abundant at Darden.

Neems and Winston’s Genovese predecessors, Second Year students Scott Caras and Peter Sauerwein, joined their classmates to help the full-time MBA Class of 2013 raise unrestricted funds for Darden and reach 100 percent class participation. Earlier in the month, class agents and secretaries gathered at First Coffee to announce their class’ gift of $120,000.13.

“I’m so proud of our class, and I’m honored to be your classmate,” said a teary-eyed Taylor Henry. She joined fellow class agent Taylor Heaps to address the Darden community and to thank student volunteers.

“We continue to show that we are one of the best classes to date. This is nothing short of record-breaking this year in terms of participation,” added Heaps.

The two Taylors presented Darden Dean Bob Bruner with a check for the class’ first contribution as alumni.

Philanthropy enables Darden to shape the future by developing the next generation of leaders.

Fellowships like Genovese’s help Darden to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders in business ownership and management. Unrestricted funds allow the School to maintain its top-ranked position among the world’s best B-schools. These activities also set the foundation for lifelong student and alumni participation in a community that delivers the world’s No. 1 education experience.

About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

Press Contact

Molly Mitchell
Associate Director of Content Marketing and Social Media
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu