Darden Makes Long-Term Investment In New Private Equity Initiative

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced today the launch of the pan-University Private Equity Initiative, offering a variety of classes, student club activities, workshops, competitions, opportunities to engage with industry leaders, and hands-on learning opportunities in private equity.

Students seeking to establish or enhance their knowledge of the private equity industry or gain practical skills and experience through investing and operational roles can take advantage of several curricular and co-curricular programs offered. Darden continues to partner with the McIntire School of Commerce to prepare students for excellence in learning and careers in private capital markets.

Hosted by the Richard A. Mayo Center for Asset Management at Darden and led by Executive Director Rodney Sullivan and Professor Elena Loutskina, academic director for the Mayo Center, the new initiative offers activities for students, UVA alumni and the broader community.

Darden’s Private Equity Initiative builds on the school’s longstanding offerings in investment management from the Mayo Center including real estate and venture capital, as well as its foundation in management.

“As a general management school, Darden is uniquely positioned to expand our presence and connection to the PE industry. After all, PE investors are not only finance professionals, but also experts in numerous aspects of a business from operations to marketing, and from team building to supply chain management, including technology adoption,” said Loutskina.

Key components of the initiative include:

• Courses in private equity for students across Darden’s degree-granting programs.
• Mayo Center Fellowship Program, which provides a stipend to First Year Darden students pursuing summer internships in investing roles at investment management firms or funds.
• Career development support by Paul Reeder, managing director of market careers in Darden’s Career Center.
• Job Trek opportunities on Wall Street
• Support for the Darden Private Equity Club.
• Private Equity Speaker Series, organized by the Mayo Center and the Darden Private Equity Club, which hosts several industry guest speakers on Darden’s main grounds throughout the academic year.
• Professional Trainings in Private Equity and relevant database access.
• The Susan Chaplinsky Fund for Faculty Excellence in Private Markets offers research and teaching funding support for faculty work in private capital markets.

“The breadth of offerings and options is what distinguishes our new Private Equity Initiative,” said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. “Students can look forward to learning from professionals in this space, both inside and outside the classroom.”

Darden students with a particular interest in private equity benefit from the synergies created by uniting Darden’s offerings in the industry, said Sullivan.

“Private equity markets have witnessed substantial growth over the past 20 years. Through the Private Equity Initiative, we are thrilled to respond by offering cohesive curricular and co-curricular programming for students as well as engage a broad network of alumni and practitioners to build an ecosystem around private capital,” he said. “Whether a student’s goal is to work in private equity long term, or to build a stronger base of industry knowledge, the initiative offers a wealth of resources.”

Elizabeth K. Weymouth (MBA ‘94), founder of Grafine Partners and former board chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, said the new program positions Darden well to serve the fast-growing private markets industry through both developing talent and faculty research of best practices.

“Darden has a proud tradition of nurturing the next generation of private equity leaders and I am thrilled that the new Private Equity Initiative will build on that strong tradition and help connect students to the innovators who are taking the asset class to the next level,” she said.