What’s Next For Darden? 5 Big Issues That Will Determine the Future for the School

By most measures, University of Virginia Darden School of Business enjoys an enviable position in the universe of business education. A reputation for the world’s best classroom experience, earned and sustained across decades. Record rankings from multiple sources that reflect Darden’s consistent excellence. Generous philanthropic support that powers curricular programs and professorships, opens doors to students, and enables research centers and improved facilities.

But even with its status as the world’s best public business school, nothing is guaranteed for tomorrow.

Competition in the business education space is growing. Enrollment of U.S. students in higher education — and in business schools — is wavering. Schools without robust financial aid inevitably lose quality potential students to others with more assistance to offer.

Now in its 70th year since launching in 1955, Darden enters a critical period.

“We must move forward with our eyes wide open,” said Dean Scott Beardsley. “Darden has an exciting future ahead if we are thoughtful, prudent, creative and determined in our response to the enormous challenges and opportunities that we encounter together.”

Here are five key issues Darden will face in the coming years. While the list is not exhaustive, it explores some of the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Issue 1: The Education Experience

Darden students climb the stairs at UVA Darden Grounds in the D.C. Metro Area in Rosslyn, Va.

What we’ve done right: Earning an MBA in a Darden classroom remains unparalleled. The faculty is widely recognized as the best in the world. The School has attracted record numbers of women, underrepresented minority, first-generation and international students. The number of women enrolled has increased by almost 90 percent since 2015. US News & World Report has ranked Darden the No. 1 U.S. public MBA for average starting salary and bonus every year since 2017.

What’s next: Scholarships, need-based aid and domestic enrollment. A Darden MBA remains in high demand. However, the School is not immune to larger trends in business education. Cost of attendance — reflecting the ever-increasing cost of funding a world-class graduate business education — has climbed dramatically in the past decade, and domestic enrollment at U.S. business schools is declining.

Investments in attracting and retaining top faculty will protect and enhance the student experience. Residential student housing, currently under construction on the Darden Grounds in Charlottesville, will create more opportunities for students while making the experience more connected.

Darden must inspire more philanthropic support that will make the School affordable for students. Donors have funded 29 endowed professorships and 92 scholarships during the Powered by Purpose campaign, but the School seeks resources for more as well as for need-based aid. The School must continue to offer its courses and programs in flexible formats that meet traditional, executive and nontraditional students wherever they choose to pursue their MBAs or other professional certifications.

Issue 2: Faculty and Staff

Darden professor Bobby Parmar. Photo by Sam Levitan.

What we’ve done right: Darden today has more faculty members, 99, than ever before. They are competitively compensated and have more options for professional development, meaningful research, online teaching opportunities and joint appointments at UVA than at any time. The School has invested in growing its professional staff and supporting new initiatives in talent development, employee engagement and career development.

What’s next: Competition for the best faculty among top business schools only grows tougher. The School must continue to offer compensation competitively benchmarked to peer institutions, while striving to attract private support that enables more professorships to become endowed.

Faculty Forward, the final milestone of the Powered by Purpose campaign, which concludes 30 June, identifies objectives that, if achieved, will give Darden momentum for the years ahead in its efforts to attract new star faculty and retain current best-in-class instructors. Those objectives are:

• Grow the endowment for faculty excellence
• Secure an endowment for the Institute for Business in Society
• Secure sustained funding the Center for Transformational Learning and to transform the Mayo Center for Asset Management into the Institute for Global Capital Markets

The School’s Master Plan includes a significant expansion and renovation of the Faculty Office Building that will emphasize collaborative and innovative spaces, warmly welcome students, and provide amenities that support and energize faculty. The Master Plan also includes upgrades to the Research Building and creation of the Darden Global Innovation Nexus.

Issue 3: Global Competitiveness

What we’ve done right: Darden has experienced remarkable growth at its Charlottesville Grounds and in the Washington, D.C., metro area, and it has expanded its brand presence across the world. The School offers Batten Darden Worldwide grants to help students take a global course, and more students are studying abroad than ever before. International applications and enrollment are at all-time highs, and Darden has staff representation in China and India. The School expanded its executive education and lifelong learning offerings through added programs and partnerships and the creation of the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning. Darden is also recognized as No. 1 among all business schools globally for its sustainability commitments and record.

What’s next: Darden faculty and students must continue to travel abroad regularly for study, recruitment and professional development.

The School has a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to pursue its maximum global potential as an institution for lifelong learning. Today, all degree program courses have virtual options, and new virtual portfolios are available for executive education, digital badges and certificates. The School will seek to reach more lifelong learners globally in different modes of delivery and in collaboration with companies. It will continue to grow corporate partnerships, strengthen The Executive Program and enhance its global reach

Issue 4: Research and Thought Leadership

What we’ve done right: Since 2015, Darden has increased financial support for faculty research by 150 percent. It has added data lab staff, six case writers, full-time researchers, Ph.D. students and grants for special faculty projects. The School also has created an Office of Research Services. Peer-reviewed journal articles have increased dramatically.

The School’s capacity for research and thought leadership has grown with the addition of initiatives focusing on venture capital, private equity, leadership, belonging and community, real estate, and sustainability. The launch of the LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business elevates Darden’s and UVA’s capacity to generate practitioner-focused thought leadership.

What’s next: The School must continue to secure resources to attract and retain star faculty who augment and expand Darden’s research capacity and elevate its thought leadership profile at the practitioner level. This effort includes securing funding for additional chairs and endowed professorships, and Darden must realize its priority of securing an endowment for the Institute for Business in Society.

Issue 5: Financial Vitality

Beardsley is the longest serving dean at the University of Virginia today. He is also the only dean of Darden since its founding dean in 1955 to be appointed to a third term. Photos by Tom Daly.

What we’ve done right: The Powered by Purpose campaign has delivered a more than $600 million impact in the past decade, benefitting every part of the School. With pledges and matching funds, the endowment has doubled to nearly $1 billion, placing Darden among the top business schools in the world. The Forum Hotel, launched thanks to campaign support, will generate revenue for strategic priorities in the decades ahead. Revenue from student enrollment, executive education and hospitality, philanthropy, and publishing and auxiliary businesses has increased 60 percent since 2015.

What’s next: In December, Darden began construction of student housing on Grounds — another avenue for enhancing the education experience while generating revenue for future needs. The School must continue to grow the quality and success of the many options for lifelong learning that complement the Full-Time MBA program, including the Part-Time and Executive MBA, the Master of Science in business analytics with the UVA McIntire School of Commerce, in-person and online formats, non-degree programs, and certificate options. The campaign’s final year will focus on garnering support for faculty as well as for student financial aid and scholarships — both essential to ensuring Darden’s long-term vitality