UVA Mourns Passing of Alec Horniman, Darden Professor for 54 Years

The Darden School of Business this year recognized the 70^th anniversary of its inaugural classes.

Few people saw the story of the School unfold quite the way Professor Alec Horniman witnessed it. Horniman joined Darden in 1967 with no real expectation for how long his tenure here might last or if he would even have much of an impact on the School.

But Horniman not only saw the story evolve, he helped shape it in ways that continue to reverberate. His time as a professor, mentor, colleague and friend here would cover 54 years. His legacy of kindness and commitment to creative, engaging experiences for students never faded, nor would his early emphasis on business ethics that helped build Darden’s reputation.

Horniman, 89, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully in his sleep on Nov. 9 in Charlottesville, said his wife, Eva Clorisa (Clo) Phillips.

“Alec loved teaching. He was first and foremost a teacher, and it brought him indescribable joy,” Phillips said. “He loved Darden, and he loved the University. It’s that simple.”

In addition to his wife, Horniman is survived by their daughter Eva Alexandra Phillips of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and children from a previous marriage, including daughter Rebecca Horniman Norton of Asheville, N.C.; grandchildren, Emma Olivia Norton and Chase Alexander Norton of Asheville; and son, Theodore (Theo) Perry Horniman of Los Angeles.

“Observing his passion and knowing how many lives he shaped was an inspiration and, frankly, an honor for me and his children,” Phillips said. “After we married in 1984, I quickly became accustomed to being with him in airports around the country and hearing someone call out, ‘Professor Horniman, Professor Horniman.’”

In a message to the Darden community on Monday, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research Sankaran Venkataraman said Horniman was part of the “second wave” of faculty members to join Darden. His cohort featured other stalwart Darden professors, including John Colley and Bill Sihler.

Horniman retired in 2021 as the Killgallon Ohio Art Professor of Business Administration. He was the founder and first executive director of Darden’s Olsson Center for Applied Ethics.

“He has had profound and transformational impact on thousands of MBA students and executive education participants during his time as a professor,” Venkataraman said in his message to the School community.

Professor Horniman visits with UVA Darden students at a morning coffee in this photograph from the 1980s.

Separately, Venkataraman spoke admiringly about the memory of his colleague and friend and warmly recalled the attributes that helped define Horniman as an educator and a person.

“Alec’s primary purpose in his professional life was to share his vast and deep knowledge about human psychology with his students for their growth and development. He had a mesmerizing presence in class and was one of the master-teachers of Darden,” Venkataraman said. “His approach to people, everyone and everywhere, could be encapsulated in his favorite phrase – ‘invite, include and inspire.’ He was happiest when he was in class and had the gift of extraordinary wit, which we all enjoyed very much.”

Alexander Bell Horniman was born in Boston, and raised in Hingham, Mass.

He earned an undergraduate degree in political science from Middlebury College, where he was an ROTC member; an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles; and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Prior to joining Darden in 1967, Horniman spent a number of years in the U.S. Army and with the aerospace firm of North American Aviation. He also taught at California State at Northridge and Suffolk University in Boston.

A 2016 article in The Darden Report, commemorating Horniman’s 50^th year at the School, reported that he was pursuing his doctorate at Harvard when he received a call from Darden Dean Charles Abbott, inviting him to join the young School’s faculty. The call – and his decision to accept the offer – placed Horniman on a distinctly Darden career path, answering a life’s calling that would see him play a key role in elevating the importance of ethics in business education, now firmly a Darden signature. An article excerpt:

“It’s part of our school,” Horniman said. “If you are coming to Darden, you’re going to have an exposure to business ethics, which I think is both practical and quite valuable.”

When teaching ethical concepts, Horniman said he tries to encourage students to understand that every behavior has an ethical and moral dimension — that every action, no matter how small, has a consequence.

“If you are going to talk to someone and you’re not going to look at them and you’re not going to listen to them, then you’re treating them as a means, not as an ends,” Horniman said. “In every exchange we treat people as ends of worth and dignity or we treat people as mere means.”

During his five decades here, Horniman taught all facets of the MBA program and Executive Education. He also taught University of Virginia undergraduates studying psychology and regularly led sessions with professional support staff across the University.

Horniman, a member of Beta Gamma Sigma international honor society, earned numerous academic accolades over the years, including The Batten Leadership award and The Morton Leadership Award. He was a recipient of the Ford Foundation Behavioral Science Research Fellowship.

In 2014, Horniman received the highest faculty award bestowed by UVA: The Thomas Jefferson Award, for excellence in public service. It honors faculty members “who have exemplified in character, work and influence the principles and ideals of Jefferson, and thus advanced the objectives for which he founded the University.”

At the award ceremony, Darden Dean Emeritus Bob Bruner said Horniman “has served as an inspirational mentor to countless students, executives, teachers and University leaders.”

“His influence and lessons in leadership, which combine insights from his field, industrial psychology, with philosophy and ethics, have benefited the entire University of Virginia community,” Bruner said.

Information about Horniman’s memorial service and Darden’s celebration of his life will be provided at a later date.