Darden Rising: How We Became the World’s Leading Public Business School and What We Have to Do to Stay There

Darden’s ascent — recently rated the No. 1 public business school in the world by the Financial Times, the top overall business school in the U.S. by a composite of Princeton Review rankings and achieving our highest-ever position in Poets & Quants’ ranking of rankings — is a story of collective ambition and strategic investment.

Driven by the transformational learning experiences we offer our students, these accolades reflect the effectiveness of our efforts to bolster faculty excellence. Achieving high rankings can be affirming and a great recruiting tool, but it’s the foundational work that matters most. Sustaining the School’s excellence and delivering on our mission — whether rankings continue to follow or not — requires that we continue to move forward together with great purpose.

Igniting Change: The Campaign That is Transforming Darden

The launch of the Powered by Purpose campaign marked a turning point for Darden, laying the groundwork for a new era of academic achievement and innovation. Our faculty is at the heart of this transformation.

In the last decade, we’ve recruited the next generation of all-star professors with over 50 new hires, enriching our community with diverse expertise and fresh perspectives. This strategic expansion — growing Darden’s full-time faculty from 69 to 95 alongside growth in MBA formats and our student body — was accompanied by a substantial investment in faculty development, with a nearly 80 percent increase in budgetary compensation and more than a doubling of research support. Professor S. Venkat Venkataraman has long said it best: “It’s not about great teaching; It’s about teaching great things.” That’s what these investments are all about: ensuring our faculty consistently delivers the best educational experience by intertwining leading-edge research and practical ideas.

All told, through last fiscal year and our achievement of Milestone I, the campaign raised $136.4 million (including matching funds from UVA) for faculty, thought leadership and curricular innovation. Donors have endowed 30 new chaired professorships to date — more than tripling our chairs — and fundraising momentum for faculty has continued since.

We created the Office of Research Services to ensure that our faculty members have the support they need to conduct groundbreaking research and make an impact in the classroom, business and society. We started exploring exciting new research areas, funding initiatives in artificial intelligence and private capital markets and augmenting existing ones like Darden’s Collaboratory with the UVA School of Data Science. We also relaunched our Ph.D. program, allowing students to collaborate with Darden faculty members to conduct cutting-edge research in business and management as well as develop lifelong relationships with mentors.

But it’s not like Darden to rest on our laurels. We expect the best from our faculty, and they expect it from us.

Raising the Bar: The Next Steps in Our Faculty Excellence Journey

With the recent launch of Faculty Forward, Milestone II of the campaign, we’re building on this foundation, with an eagle-eyed focus on faculty excellence as the key to sustaining our momentum. This effort underscores our commitment to remaining at the forefront of business education and thought leadership — not just among public institutions or American institutions but all institutions worldwide.

The six significant funding opportunities within Faculty Forward, totaling $200 million, are bold but necessary:

1. Redesign, renovate and modernize the Faculty Office Building for collaboration, transformational student interaction and excellence.
2. Create a dedicated endowment for faculty excellence, building on the Robert F. Bruner Fund for Faculty Excellence to attract and retain the world’s leading educators.
3. Endow the Institute for Business in Society (IBIS), cementing the legacy of Professor Ed Freeman at Darden and fueling our mission to cultivate the next generation of ethical thought leaders
4. Officially launch the Institute for Artificial Intelligence Business Ethics, so Darden emerges as the trailblazer in ethical and innovative tech applications in the business landscape.
5. Inaugurate and endow the Center for Transformational Learning to supercharge faculty development, revolutionize curriculum, pioneer advanced case writing, and harness technology for state-of-the-art coaching and feedback.
6. Expand the Mayo Center for Asset Management’s impact further to the institute level, deepening its connection to asset classes such as private equity, venture capital, hedge funds and real estate.

The goals we’ve set and the progress we’ve made so far post Milestone I are a testament to the strength of the Darden community. Since last summer, Dave (MBA ’78) and Kathy LaCross’s recent record-breaking gift, the first of Faculty Forward — which includes funding for research and instruction in artificial intelligence and its ethical implications for business — highlights our ambition to lead in critical areas of business and technology. Additionally, Steve (MBA ’63) and Phyllis Bachand’s $10 million gift (including matching funds from UVA) — which endows a University Professorship in business ethics and spurs IBIS — will enable us to influence the intersection of business and societal challenges. Thus, we are already progressing toward our Faculty Forward, Milestone II goals.

Embracing Challenges, Seizing Opportunities: The Road Ahead

We also must acknowledge the challenging journey ahead. The evolving landscape of business education demands continued innovation and dedication. To maintain our institutional leadership and continue providing transformational learning experiences to our students, we need your increased support of our faculty.

The uncomfortable reality is that while we have made substantial, material improvements in supporting and investing in our faculty, Darden still lags behind top peers in faculty compensation, making our best professors targets for poaching. Our faculty excellence funds — which enabled some of the successes I mentioned earlier — are already tapped out. Objective measures of our faculty research show we are still far behind not only our elite peers but also many others in the sector, with a No. 46 Financial Times research ranking. Our faculty members need additional leverage to improve the productivity and impact of their research — which in turn fuels teaching leading-edge electives and impacts practice and executive education. And as evidenced by two of our priorities for Faculty Forward, IBIS and the Mayo Center require resources to scale as they are key vehicles for our faculty’s thought leadership.

On the facilities side, Darden’s master plan — approved by UVA’s Board of Visitors — foresees a significant but fiscally prudent refresh to the Faculty Office Building to support faculty excellence. While it holds memories of the past, it’s time for it to signal Darden’s vibrant future. More than just a space, it’s where ideas are born, collaborations flourish and students connect with mentors. We must turn this space into a living embodiment of Darden’s ethos. The revamped building, featuring a transformational faculty hub, should be a nexus for innovation, collaboration and community — ensuring every corner resonates with Darden’s commitment to excellence and student-centricity. Robert A.M. Stern Architects, which designed the original Goodwin Family Grounds in Charlotteville, has completed an incredible conceptual design that we hope to build in 2025, pending a lead gift.

Together Towards Tomorrow: Join Us on Our Journey to Excellence

So, Darden stands at a crossroads. We have the opportunity to further shape the future of business education in the mold of all that this place stands for — ethics, rigor, discernment, honor, relationships and growth. Faculty Forward is not just a campaign slogan; it’s a commitment.

Together, we can continue to set standards of excellence, inspire the next generation of leaders, and make an indelible impact on the world of business and beyond. The path forward is filled with promise, and with your support, we can turn our ambitious vision into reality. Let’s embark on this exciting journey together, shaping a future where Darden leads not just in rankings but also in making a difference.