Darden Announces Second Year of The Executive Leadership Program Scholarships

The University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, which supports the mission of the Darden School of Business, recently announced the opening of applications for two scholarships to its renowned The Executive Program (TEP) for the session that begins this fall. The Commonwealth Fellowships, the equivalent value of a $43,350 scholarship, will be awarded to two leaders working for a nonprofit organization in Virginia.

Applications are available through the Darden website. The deadline to apply is May 15.

“We are pleased to once again offer these fellowships to a category of often unheralded leaders in the commonwealth, nonprofit executives whose organizational and leadership challenges closely mirror those of their for-profit colleagues,” said Ashley Williams, CEO and CLO of Executive Education & Lifelong Learning. “The experience of last year’s fellowship recipients underscored the multi-dimensional and enduring value that The Executive Program provides to leaders in the nonprofit sector. TEP not only fuses academic scholarship with real-world applications, but it also exposes students to a network of peers that serve as a lifelong support system. We hope that nonprofit executives throughout Virginia will take advantage of this opportunity to apply.”

Named by FORTUNE magazine as one of “10 executive leadership programs that should be on every business leader’s radar” and led by top-ranked faculty, TEP is a six-month program that consists of two in-person modules.  The first is an immersive two-week session in the fall on the Darden Grounds in Charlottesville, where participants reside at the fashionable Forum Hotel Kimpton. The second is during the spring on the School’s DC Metro Grounds in Rosslyn, and the Charlottesville Grounds. A third module, which focuses on individual instruction and takes place virtually over the four months between the in-person sessions, employs Metaverse technology with the use of VR goggles, putting students virtually into classroom and social environments.

Last year’s scholarship recipients – Ravi Respeto, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Charlottesville, and Athena Gould, Deputy Director at Virginia Humanities – lauded their TEP experience.

“In and out of the classroom, TEP has been an invaluable experience, not only from an academic point of view but in helping apply classroom learning to the management and branding challenges within my own organization,” Respeto said.

“TEP has opened wide the door to Darden and its incredible people, not only the professors and administrators at the University, but my fellow students, whose insights and experiences have been every bit as valuable to me,” Gould said.

Scholarship Information

To learn more and apply to the Commonwealth Fellowship. The fellowships cover 80% of the tuition fee (a $43,350 value) for the 2024-2025 session beginning this fall. The recipient or their sponsoring organization will need to provide $10,000 to cover program administrative fees. Fellowship recipients will be announced on May 30.

About Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning

Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning is a world-class, global provider of executive development. Delivered by the Darden School Foundation and taught by the Darden School of Business’ highly acclaimed faculty, Darden Executive Education prepares and inspires leaders to succeed through transformation and disruption in a global marketplace. Offering a variety of open programs and noncredit certificate tracks, as well as partnering with leading organizations worldwide to develop custom business solutions, it provides personalized, transformational learning experiences at locations in Charlottesville and the Washington, D.C. Metro area, as well as online.