UVA Darden State of the School Highlights Major Milestones Achieved and Opportunities Ahead

University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumni from across the decades gathered during Reunion Weekend for a Darden tradition: the annual State of the School address. Highlights of the event included advancements in the School’s master plan, Robert J. Hugin (MBA ’85) being honored with the Charles C. Abbott Award, the presentation of $6.9 million in Reunion Giving and an update on the Powered by Purpose campaign, which has raised a remarkable $625 million so far.

With around 300 alumni and guests in attendance in the Abbott Center Auditorium — from classes ending in 0s, 5s and the most recent graduates from 2024 — the event offered a celebratory reflection on Darden’s significant milestones and increasing momentum.

Rob Weiler, President of the Darden School Foundation, opened the program with a warm welcome. “This event is one of my favorite traditions,” said Weiler. “A chance to reflect, reconnect, and most of all, say something we can never say enough: thank you.”

He acknowledged the classes here for their 65-, 60-, and 55-year reunions, and recognized the Class of 1975’s entrance into the Abbott Society.

Dean Scott Beardsley, who is serving in his tenth year as dean and was recently appointed to a third term, gave a comprehensive update on the School’s exciting trajectory in a sharply competitive and rapidly changing environment.

Beardsley reflected on the School’s mission to improve the world by inspiring responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences, noting the importance of responsible leaders now more than ever in a tumultuous world.

“Innovation, purpose and profit are not competing forces, but powerful allies,” he said. “We are absolutely unwavering in our commitment to education, changing people’s lives and making responsible leaders that make the world a better place.”

A Decade of Progress

“Reflecting on the past decade, I am filled with pride for all that Darden faculty, staff, students and alumni have achieved,” Beardsley said.

He emphasized the importance of a stellar leadership team that cultivated the School’s many milestones in the past few years. He recently appointed two Vice Deans to help continue Darden’s trajectory: Yael Grushka-Cockayne Melissa Thomas-Hunt. Grushka-Cockayne is program director for professional degree programs based in Rosslyn, Virginia, and Thomas-Hunt oversees the Full-Time MBA based in Charlottesville.

One milestone in which Darden continues to distinguish itself is in business school rankings of excellence: the School was just recognized as the No. 1 public business school in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report for the first time in its history. This ranking builds on No. 1 Public MBA rankings from Bloomberg Businessweek and Poets & Quants, and in the past two years achieving more Top 10s overall in The Princeton Review than any other school and No. 1 overall among all schools in a composite by Poets & Quants.

These successes have placed Darden in the top five overall, ahead of MIT, Dartmouth Tuck, Columbia and Yale.

Darden’s rise in the rankings coincides with the highest number of applications in the School’s history last year, and the highest GPAs and GMAT’s in Darden’s history as well.

“It’s now our job to keep it that way,” said Beardsley.

Onward to 2030

In a higher education environment that is both highly competitive and volatile in the current landscape, Beardsley emphasized his “unwavering belief that education has the power to change lives.”

“Education’s importance is going up, not down,” he said.

Beardsley laid out core elements for sustained excellence approaching 2030 and Darden’s 75^th anniversary: the people, the experience, the ideas, the infrastructure and the resources to power it all.

Ongoing faculty excellence and generational renewal are at the heart of the Darden experience. More than 70 new faculty have joined Darden in the past 10 years, and this year the School celebrated the careers of retiring faculty giants, including Dean Emeritus Bob Harris and Professors Robert Carraway, Marc Modica and Andy Wicks.

Innovative ideas and dynamic programming are Darden hallmarks. There are now three formats of the Darden MBA: Full-Time MBA, Executive MBA, and now the Part-Time MBA – the first class of which is graduating this year. The Master of Science in Business Analytics is offered with UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, and the School recently re-introduced the Ph.D. program and is leaning into lifelong learning with non-degree programs. These executive education programs are sweeping awards for their exceptional custom solutions for corporations.

Supporting this dynamic population of learners means staying at the forefront of today’s top issues in business. To that end, The LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business launched last September. It builds on Darden’s strengths in business ethics, stakeholder theory, and data analytics to equip leaders to thrive in an AI-driven world. The School also recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT Edu into the educational framework, and just this week announced a new MBA concentration in AI, Data Analytics and Decision Sciences.

Student access and success are always top of mind. With the cost of higher education rising, scholarships remain a top priority. “We want to be accessible to meritorious talent,” said Beardsley.

The School’s infrastructure plans continue to advance. New student housing in Charlottesville is underway, Faculty Office Building renovations are imminent, and the UVA Darden DC Metro Grounds recently expanded to enhance the experience for the more than 500 students studying there.

Beardsley emphasized how important and meaningful the Powered by Purpose fundraising campaign has been, which runs through 30 June and has raised $625 million so far with alumni participation exceeding 70%. “Every gift counts, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am to our alumni, donors and friends for your generosity. That’s an incredible impact,” he said.

Darden’s momentum is still growing, and sustaining the School’s high bar of excellence is the challenge and opportunity moving forward. “Together, we will advance Darden’s mission, make the School an extraordinary place to learn, teach, research and work, and hold to the values that make Darden truly exceptional,” said Beardsley.

Record Generosity

Following Beardsley’s remarks, Weiler returned to the stage to highlight the success of the year’s fundraising efforts. This month’s Day for Darden was the most successful single day of giving in Darden’s history. In the final stretch of the Powered by Purpose campaign, Weiler focused on the campaign’s last milestone, Faculty Forward.

Frank Sands, Chair of the Darden School Foundation Board, then presented the 2025 Charles C. Abbott Award, the School’s highest alumni honor, to Robert J. Hugin (MBA ’85). Hugin was recognized for his extraordinary leadership, philanthropy and service to the Darden community.

The event concluded with a celebration of Reunion giving, highlighting exceptional participation across class years.

Highlights included:

• Class of 1975: $3.3M in support
• Class of 1985: Leading in participation
• Class of 2005: Top performing class on Day for Darden
• Class of 2010: Champions of multiyear commitments to the Annual Fund.

In total, this year’s Reunion classes presented a collective gift of $6,895,057 to the School.