UVA Darden Partners With McGowan Fund, Opening New Fellowship Opportunity for Students

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has joined a group of the world’s foremost institutions in business education as a partner school of the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund’s McGowan Fellows Program. Through the program, a rising Second Year full-time MBA student at Darden will be selected as a McGowan Fellow and receive a full-tuition scholarship, in addition to a host of experiential leadership development opportunities.

The Darden McGowan Fellow will join a cohort of fellows from nine other top business schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and MIT’s Sloan School of Management. The 10-member cohort of second-year MBA students receive training from the renowned Center for Creative Leadership, engage with McGowan Alumni Coaches, participate in a collective social impact project, learn from experts in business leadership and ethics, and network with peers at a series of retreats and an annual symposium.

“Darden was selected due to its long commitment to ethics and leadership, and it joins a distinguished group of McGowan Fellows partner schools,” said Diana Spencer, executive director of the McGowan Fund. “We are very excited to work with Darden to promote principled leadership with an eye to positively influencing future trailblazers in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.”

The McGowan Fund was established to provide financial support to organizations that reflect the visions, concerns and life experiences of William G. McGowan — the pioneering entrepreneur who built the global telecommunications giant MCI — in the areas of education, human services, health care and medical research. The Fund partners with top business schools to develop and sustain a community of high-character, competent leaders with the potential to shape the future of society.

By 2030, the Fund expects to have invested more than $20 million through the McGowan Fellows program toward the development of principled leadership.

“At Darden, we believe deeply that responsible leadership is a learned skill that can effectively be taught. Since the School’s founding, Darden has invested in teaching, research and educational programs, through resources such as our Institute for Business in Society, to advance ethics and responsible leadership in business education,” said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. “We are honored and excited to work with a like-minded partner in the McGowan Fund, who shares our belief in the importance of developing purpose-driven leaders prepared for the future and imbued with critical values such as integrity, resilience, accountability, empathy and courage.”

Darden offers numerous merit-based scholarships to current and aspiring MBA students — many made possible through the generosity of alumni and friends of the School. Learn more about scholarships available to Darden students.