New University Professorship in Support of Business Ethics at UVA

Stephen E. Bachand’s (MBA ’63) Gift Honors the Globally Influential Work of Darden and Professor Ed Freeman in the Field of Business Ethics

UVA President Jim Ryan today announced a $5 million commitment from Stephen E. Bachand, a 1963 MBA graduate of the UVA Darden School of Business, and his wife, Phyllis, to create the Stephen E. Bachand University Professorship. The gift will be matched with an additional $5 million from the University’s Bicentennial Professorship Fund for a total investment of $10 million.

The new University Professorship is a critical step toward attracting distinguished scholars in the field of business ethics.

“I’m deeply grateful to Stephen and Phyllis Bachand for their generous investment in a University Professorship in business ethics,” Ryan said. “Their gift will help foster vibrant teaching, learning, and research in the field, which will help strengthen ethical business practices in organizations beyond Grounds. It’s a great example of what it means for a University to be both great and good.”

University Professorships are awarded to exceptionally distinguished professors who are held in the highest regard by their national and international academic peers, and whose scholarship transcends the boundaries of a particular school or is interdisciplinary in nature. University Professors can teach in any discipline on Grounds. The holder of the Stephen E. Bachand University Professorship in the field of business ethics will be appointed by the University’s president and provost.

Stephen E. Bachand (MBA ’63) and Darden Dean Scott Beardsley, left to right. Photo by Tom Daly.

“UVA’s Darden School of Business has had a transformative impact on me and my career,” said Bachand. “To this day, I remain inspired by the School’s mission to develop responsible leaders and foster ethical practice in business, and I want to help elevate that critical work. I see the University Professorship as a powerful vehicle to cultivate an enduring legacy of ethical thinking and practice, impacting not just individuals but generations of business leaders and organizations worldwide.”

This new University Professorship builds on Bachand’s previous giving to the Darden School to benefit first-generation students, of which he was one. The Bachands are Principal Donors to Darden.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Bachands for their continued support of the University and Darden,” said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. “Business leaders with an ethical foundation are critical to society, and Darden was one of the very first business schools to include ethics in the core curriculum. Steve has shared with me his appreciation for the work of Darden Professor Ed Freeman — our only current University Professor — whose seminal ideas published in the book Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach have shaped a practical and ethical view of how business and capitalism can work to benefit all. The book and the ideas it presents will celebrate their 40^th year in 2024 and continue to take shape through Darden’s Institute for Business in Society and Olsson Center for Applied Ethics. The Bachands’ gift not only honors those ideas but also will help advance the Center and Institute’s commitment to cross-Grounds impact that benefits the University.”

The University Professorship of Business Ethics will reach across Grounds and beyond disciplines. Bachand’s gift strengthens the University’s commitment to interdisciplinary and interschool collaboration and will serve as a catalyst for future innovative scholarship and increased student involvement.

The Bachand’s gift of $5 million to the Darden School Foundation benefits from a one-to-one match from the University of Virginia, reaching the minimum endowment needed for a University Professorship. Stephen E. Bachand is a 1963 graduate of the UVA Darden School of Business. He is the former president and chief executive officer of Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. Bachand has been a loyal donor to the Darden School for over 50 years and made his first gift in 1972.

“Stephen and Phyllis’ longstanding support of the annual fund and first-generation scholars, and now the establishment of a University Professorship in Business Ethics, are truly inspirational and will move both UVA and Darden forward,” said Beardsley.