Biotech Executive Robert J. Hugin Receives Top Alumni Award From UVA Darden

Robert J. Hugin (MBA ’85), former chairman and chief executive officer of Celgene Corporation, has been awarded the Charles C. Abbott Award by the Alumni Association Board of Directors, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business’s highest honor for alumni.

Presented during Darden Reunion Weekend, the award recognizes Hugin’s decades of leadership and service to the School — including more than 14 years on the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees and wide-ranging philanthropic contributions that have advanced student access, faculty support and capital initiatives.

Hugin helped lead Celgene through a period of rapid growth and global expansion, transforming the company into one of the world’s most influential biotech firms before its acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb.

Hugin delivers a keynote address as part of Darden Leadership Speaker Series in September 2014.

That success, he told students during his keynote in the 2014–15 Darden Leadership Speaker Series, was grounded in business strategy and a clear sense of mission.

“The patient had to be at the center of everything,” he said. “If we make a difference in patients’ lives, that’s what the purpose of our company is. And it will take care of itself.”

That same mindset has shaped his enduring relationship with Darden.

Over two decades of engagement, Hugin has supported scholarships for military veterans — including the Colonel James L. Fowler and Robert J. Hugin U.S. Marine Corps Scholarships — and endowed funds honoring beloved Professors Emeriti Bill Sihler and Richard Brownlee. He also contributed to the development of The Forum Hotel, home to the Hugin Family Executive Boardroom. Hugin is a Principal Donor to the School and a member of the Darden Society and the Hickory Club.

Dean Beardsley, Kathy and Bob Hugin after the Abbott Award presentation. (Photo by Tom Daly)

His tenure on the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, which included a term as chair, came at pivotal moments in the School’s evolution. Known for his strategic thinking and deep institutional commitment, Hugin was often the steady hand that guided Darden forward.

In addition to his board service, Hugin has remained deeply engaged with the School’s alumni network: mentoring students, hosting events, supporting reunion efforts, and staying closely connected with faculty and staff.

Hugin as featured in the 1985 Darden School yearbook.

The Charles C. Abbott Award — named for Darden’s founding dean — is conferred annually by the Alumni Association Board of Directors to a graduate whose contributions of time, energy and talent are considered outstanding in both scale and character.

Past recipients include corporate leaders, philanthropists and longtime volunteers whose service has shaped the School across generations. Hugin’s recognition places him among a select group of alumni whose leadership has left a lasting mark — not only on Darden’s physical and financial foundation but on its culture of purpose-driven business education.

“Serving Darden over the years has benefited me in so many ways, far beyond what I’ve contributed to Darden,” Hugin said upon receiving the award. “I’m a better person because of my time at Darden as a student and my time afterward in helping Darden be as good a school and enterprise as it can be, and so I’m a better person — I’m the lucky one.”

From left: Darden School Foundation President Rob Weiler; Dean Scott Beardsley; Bob Hugin (MBA ’84); Cynthia Soledad (MBA ’02), chair of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; and Frank Sands (MBA ’94), chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees. (Photo by Tom Daly)