UVA Darden School Welcomes Dean Designate Scott C. Beardsley

Faculty, students, staff and alumni welcomed Scott C. Beardsley, the ninth dean of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The event took place Tuesday during Darden’s historic First Coffee. Beardsley will begin his role 1 August.

“One of the things that attracted me to Darden and the University of Virginia is the Jeffersonian tradition of excellence,” said Beardsley.

Beardsley, who will also occupy the Charles C. Abbott Professorship in Business Administration, comes from a family of educators. He was born in Maine, raised in Vermont and Alaska, and is a citizen of France and the United States. Beardsley spent most of his 26-year career with McKinsey & Co. — a leading global management consulting firm — at its Brussels, Belgium, office. He attended the First Coffee with his wife, Claire Dufournet.

U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan welcomed the new dean, noting that Beardsley “brings us a great, rich and varied background.” She remarked that Beardsley “has global vision” necessary for students who “will be working in an increasingly globalized economy. Scott has seen it personally and has the vision for what it will take to make you the best possible principled leaders for the 21st century.”

In turn, Beardsley promised students that he would help them reach their full potential and “go out and change the world.”

Darden Dean Bob Bruner, who has led the School for 10 years, called it a “great day for Darden. I want to say how pleased I am with the new dean, and I ask all of you to rally around him.” Bruner added, “The transformation is right for the School. The School has wonderful momentum and is heading in the right direction.”

President Sullivan praised Bruner for his “extraordinary leadership,” as did Darden Professor Kenneth M. Eades, who headed the global search for the new dean.

“The search process was intense, but very productive,” said Eades. “One of the things that attracted so many people to this position was having in place a successful dean. Bob Bruner has taken Darden from a strong business school to a leading business school with momentum.”

Beardsley holds many interests outside of his professional life. He is an avid sports fan, a rated tennis player, longtime musician and world traveler.

“The best leaders are balanced and interesting people,” said Beardsley. “They have passions in their life other than grinding away at work.”