New ‘Global Collaboration’ Course Brings Cross-Sector Luminaries to UVA Darden

A new course at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business will bring together leaders, including a former U.S. Senator and top World Bank officials, from the business, public policy, health care and energy sectors for in-depth classroom discussions on a host of complex global issues.

Darden Professor Alan Beckenstein co-created the course, “Global Collaboration in an Uncertain Economy,” with Peter Prowitt (MBA ’81), a Darden lecturer and head of global government relations at GE Aviation, and Robert Kyle, a senior partner with expertise in international law at Hogan and Lovells and former White House trade counsel in the administration of President Bill Clinton.

“I have always been a strong believer in the depth of learning that occurs when students can engage directly with practitioners and decision-makers,” said Beckenstein. “We’ve assembled an incredible roster of true leaders in their respective fields — I’m grateful for their partnership and excited for the conversations.”

Specific classes and instructors include:

• “Paths for the Post-Covid State & Forecasts of Drivers for the Future,” taught by Beckenstein and Kyle
• “Understanding Potential US-China Decoupling: Macro Trends, Industry Impacts, and Governmental Engagement,” taught by former U.S. Senator Max Baucus
• “World Bank and IMF Perspectives on Global Collaboration in an Uncertain World,” taught by Acting Vice President of the World Bank Dr. Ayhan Kose
• “Global Health Issues — Government and Collaborative Programs,” taught by Emilio Emini, director of the TB and HIV program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• “Global Resilience and Collaboration: The Perspective of MNEs,” taught by Prowitt
• “Economic and Other Shocks and the Impact of Globalization/Deglobalization,” taught by Beckenstein
• “America in the World: Historical and Current Perspectives on Diplomacy and Foreign Policy,” taught by former President of the World Bank and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick
• “The Paris Agreement,” taught by Kyle
• “Climate Change and Collaborations,” taught by CEO of Alcade & Fay and chairman of the UVA Foundation Kevin Fay

The five-day virtual course begins 11 March and includes 19 UVA students — 14 from Darden and five students pursuing a master’s of public policy at UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

Prowitt has co-taught the “Business-Government Relations” course with Beckenstein for more than two decades, and Kyle has led Darden courses in various formats, including in Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning’s The Executive Program.