The Power of Showing Up: Michael Ganey Honored with UVA Darden Distinguished Service Award
By David Buie-Moltz
“I was debating whether or not Darden was the right fit for me, but our conversation made me feel confident I was making the right choice.”
That line didn’t come from a professor or an admissions officer. It came from a student recalling a simple phone call with Michael Ganey (MBA ’78) — a call that helped tip the scales toward the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
Stories like this aren’t rare. Twelve current students on Grounds can trace their first connection with Darden back to a conversation with Ganey, who has been volunteering with admissions for decades.
Another student remembered: “That conversation was one of the best moments of the week and had me smiling the entire phone call.”
A third said: “You were one of my first points of contact with the School, and you set the tone for how meaningful this journey would be.”
Honoring a Lifetime of Service
Last week, at the Darden Volunteer Leadership Summit — a gathering of more than 100 alumni leaders — Ganey received the Harry N. Lewis Distinguished Service Award.
A class agent since 1980, multiple-time reunion chair and member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2009, Ganey has quietly shaped the life of the School for nearly 45 years.
Presenting the award, Shaele Culbreath, senior associate vice president for engagement, captured what so many alumni know about him: “This person is the ultimate team player, stepping up when something needed to be done and showing the best of Darden in all that they do. They are consistently joyful, insightful and diplomatic — and I have to say, one of my favorite human beings.”
Following in Harry’s Footsteps
Ganey used his acceptance remarks not to spotlight himself but to honor the award’s namesake, Harry Lewis (MBA ’57), Darden’s first chair of the Alumni Association Board.
“I started volunteering in 1980 as a class agent, and Harry was one of the first people I met at a gathering like this. I vowed then I was going to try to follow in Harry’s footsteps. And yeah, I’m still 10 paces behind, but I’m still working towards that goal,” he said.
Of Lewis, he recalled: “He gave back to the School his entire life. And he was one of those people: He was kind of quiet, sat back in the class, but when he spoke, everybody listened, because Harry had something important to say.”
Ganey then widened the lens to every volunteer in the room: “This award is really not for me. It’s for Harry, and it’s for all of you volunteers, because it’s volunteers that provide the grease to keep the Darden wheels turning.”
From left, Dean Scott Beardsley; Michael Ganey (MBA ’78); Shaele Culbreath, senior associate vice president for engagement; Samantha Hartog, senior associate vice president for advancement; and Rob Weiler, president of the Darden School Foundation.
Additional Volunteer Leadership Summit Honors
Darden also recognized the dedication of many other classes and alumni:
- Highest Giving Participation (Non-Reunion, >200 alumni): Class of 1987 (47%)
- Highest Giving Participation (Non-Reunion, <200 alumni): Class of 1963 (68%)
- Highest Annual Fund Dollars (Non-Reunion, >200 alumni): Class of 1984 ($530,424)
- Highest Annual Fund Dollars (Non-Reunion, <200 alumni): Class of 1979 ($135,956)
- Largest Increases in Participation: Class of 1966 (+26%), Class of 1969 (+24%), Class of 1972 (+22%)
- Hickory Club Leaders (>200 alumni): Class of 2011 MBA (38%)
- Hickory Club Leaders (<200 alumni): Class of 1958 (67%)
- Darden Society Leaders (>200 alumni): Class of 1987 (16%)
- Darden Society Leaders (<200 alumni): Class of 1984 (24%)
- Day for Darden Awards:
- Class of 2011 (Most Donors)
- Class of 2015 (Most Dollars Raised)
- Class of 2005 (Raise the Bar)
- Reunion Giving Award: Class of 1975 ($3.34M; 58% participation)
- Outstanding Reunion Leadership Award: Class of 2000 (established Class of 2000 Scholarship Fund)
- Reunion Legacy Leadership Award: Class of 1990 (record planned giving participation)
- Outstanding Class Engagement: Pat O’Shea (MBA ’86)
- Rookie of the Year: Justin Masters & Alice Melton (MBA ’19)
- Grassroots Leadership: Kathryn Thompson (MBA ’94), Charlotte Chapter
- Spirit of Engagement: Karen Castellon (MBA ’97), Charlottesville Chapter
- Chapter Energizers: Laura Curran (MBA ’93, Los Angeles) & Lauren Murphy (MBA ’94, San Diego)
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 20,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Press Contact
Molly Mitchell
Senior Associate Director, Editorial and Media Relations
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu
