One Cup of Coffee, One Life-Changing Announcement: UVA Darden Awards $338K in Genovese Fellowships

They were standing among classmates at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, coffee cups in hand, casual chatter in the air.

It was Second Coffee in PepsiCo Forum — a daily ritual of connection at the heart of Darden life. But on this Monday morning, everything changed for four unsuspecting students.

“Today, we’re going to give out $338,000,” Frank Genovese (MBA ’74) said with a grin, pausing for effect. “And I believe giving out money is one of life’s great joys. And I’m sure all of you will have a chance to do it. So please do it.”

Then he announced the names: Ashutosh Gehlot, Landon Tulk, Caroline Vaughan and Carter Love (Class of 2026).

Each student was awarded full tuition and fees for their Second Year of the Full-Time MBA program — $84,600 apiece.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

It’s the Darden experience at its best —a turning point powered by community and generosity.

Frank Genovese (MBA ’74) and Dean Scott Beardsley share a handshake following the 2025 Genovese Fellowship announcement at Darden. (Photo by Caroline Mackey)

From Vision to Impact

Genovese (MBA ’74), a Marine Corps veteran turned investor and entrepreneur, presided over the event. Now retired as president of the Richmond-based Rothbury Corporation, he is perhaps best known on Grounds for a different kind of impact — establishing the Frank E. Genovese Second Year Fellowship, one of Darden’s most prestigious and transformative awards.

His aim? Simple: to identify future business leaders passionate about running companies. As Genovese told the crowd, the fellowship was never just about entrepreneurship — it was about supporting students who aspire to lead, operate and grow businesses as general managers.

Since launching the fellowship in 1991 with a $1 million gift (and another million a decade later), Genovese has turned his vision into one of Darden’s great success stories. Thanks to “smart investing and the magic of compound interest,” as Dean Scott Beardsley put it, the fellowship has distributed more than $7 million while maintaining a $7 million endowment.

And it’s working. 92% of the 91 Genovese Fellows who have completed the program are general managers.

Three Teammates, One Incredible Outcome

This year, three of this year’s four recipients — Carter Love, Landon Tulk and Caroline Vaughan — are members of the same First Year learning team.

At Darden, learning teams are the backbone of the case method — five to six students assigned from across sections work closely together on every case every night during the core curriculum. It’s about collaboration. It’s about trust. It’s about sharpening your thinking in the company of people who challenge and support you.

To have three Genovese Fellows emerge from one team is more than a coincidence. It’s a testament to how Darden’s community fuels excellence — and how the fellowship doesn’t just reward ambition but the habits of mutual growth as a team.

A Gift That Keeps on Giving

Genovese is not just a donor. He’s an architect of opportunity. In Darden classrooms, he teaches the popular Second-Year elective “Acquisition of Closely Held Enterprises.” Outside the classroom, he inspires by giving and setting the bar for what others can do.

“I hope you’ll all be successful in some way,” he told the students, “and when you can, if you can give major gifts — or any gift — give as early as you can. You want to use the compounding like we did.”

His message is strategic. He is building a culture of generosity that is already bearing fruit. Last year, Genovese Fellow Devin Lert (MBA ’21) and his father, John Lert (MBA ’73), made the first gift of more than $1 million from the fellowship’s alumni network, establishing the Lert Scholarship for Innovators and Entrepreneurs.

“Frank, your generosity doesn’t just change individual lives,” said Beardsley. “It’s helping spark a culture of giving. A culture that says: When someone invests in you, you invest in others.”

Frank Genovese (MBA ’74) shares reflections and encouragement during the 2025 Genovese Second Year Fellowship announcement at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. (Photo by Caroline Mackey)

One Man, One Mission, Thirty-One Years Strong

Now entering its fourth decade, the fellowship remains deeply personal for Genovese. He still appears each April to surprise the students. He still brings his signature humor, offering a few laughs and life lessons. Still takes photos with each new class of fellows. And still reminds them: “You’re all in the point-one percent of education in the world, and you’re all in the one percent of intelligence… So set your mind to it. Don’t take no. Just try your dreams — and do it.”

Reflecting on his own journey, Genovese added with a smile, “There were two or three turning points. One was marrying my wife of 54 years. And the other was definitely coming to the Darden School.”

Some legacies are measured in dollars. Others in careers launched. But perhaps Genovese’s most significant contribution is the belief he instills — that giving is not just a privilege but a joy. And for four students this April morning, that joy was very real.

From left: Dean Scott Beardsley, Ashutosh Gehlot, Carter Love, Landon Tulk, Frank Genovese and Caroline Vaughan celebrate the announcement of the 2025 Genovese Second Year Fellows at Darden. (Photo by Caroline Mackey)

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