New Macfarlane Family Professorship Established to Support Mayo Center Academic Director

30 July 2015

By Jay Hodgkins


When the University of Virginia Board of Visitors passed a final resolution in June establishing the John G. Macfarlane Family Professorship of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business, the moment was celebrated as a major step in the School’s quest to grow its position as a leader in the area of asset management.

The Macfarlane Family Professorship will be held by the future academic director of the Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management. One of the key roles of the Mayo Center is to establish Darden as the leading graduate business school in the asset management space.

“This professorship is not only a great way to honor John, who has been involved with the creation and funding of the center from the very beginning, but it will also help us attract the very best talent to come to Darden to lead the Mayo Center as academic director,” said Kenneth M. Eades, professor of business administration and interim academic director of the Mayo Center.

The professorship is named after John G. Macfarlane III (MBA ’79), whose career spans 35 years in financial services and asset management with Salomon Brothers, Tudor Investment Corp. and Arrochar Management.

“Our hope is to attract a distinguished scholar who is a thought leader and will raise the profile of the center,” Macfarlane said. “Darden has produced very successful alumni in the field of asset management for years, has one of the best student-managed endowments in the country, and resides in a robust and growing community of investment managers. The academic director will interact with students and alumni and attract top minds to Darden to help promote the center on a national and global scale.”

In describing his motivation to support the center, Macfarlane praised the leadership of Dean Robert F. Bruner and Eades in facilitating its formation. He also cited the recent hire of Director George Craddock as evidence of the Center’s momentum.

Macfarlane has been one of the instrumental figures establishing Darden’s standing as a top graduate business school. Among his many contributions to Darden, Macfarlane has served as chair and vice chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees during a 12-year tenure on the board; co-authored the memorandum of understanding among Darden, the Darden School Foundation and UVA that helped facilitate oversight of the self-sufficiency model that has allowed the School to thrive; and is a frequent contributor in Darden classrooms, including his recent role as guest faculty in the inaugural Mayo Center Investing Classics Reading Seminar. In 2011, Macfarlane received the Charles C. Abbott Award, the highest honor bestowed upon Darden alumni.

“John has done as much as any graduate in Darden history to support the School,” said Dean Bruner. “He has relentlessly pursued our vision to make Darden a national and global leader in the asset management field.”

For the University as a whole, Macfarlane currently serves on the UVA Board of Visitors; on the University of Virginia Investment Management Company Board, which he chaired from 2011-13; and as a member of the UVA College of Arts and Sciences Foundation Board. He received the University’s Raven Award in 2008 and was inducted as a member of the Raven Society in 2009.

“In a quickly changing business landscape, Darden needs to be nimble, and John has played an important role positioning the School for success within an extremely competitive set of peers,” said Locke Ogens, senior executive director of the Darden School Foundation and Strategic Relations. “John has proven his leadership not only for the foundation, not only for Darden, but for the entire University.”

As a Principal Donor to Darden, Macfarlane’s ongoing generous support of the Darden School has enabled it to pursue many critical priorities. Macfarlane’s support funding the Macfarlane Family Professorship will stand as a lasting sign of his strong advocacy for Darden’s work in the area of asset management.

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.

 

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