UVA Darden Names Faculty Team to Guide MBA Programs

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has announced the appointment of Darden Professors Ron Wilcox, Paul Simko and Greg Fairchild to new positions, as the School embarks on a series of enhancements to the MBA program and prepares to launch the executive formats of the MBA in the Washington, D.C., area.

“Darden delivers the world’s best education experience, and we are continuously innovating our MBA degree programs in the pursuit of excellence,” said Dean Scott Beardsley. “Guiding our relentless innovation is an outstanding team of faculty and staff. After a consultative process over several months, I am delighted to announce several new faculty appointments.”

Ron Wilcox will serve as senior associate dean for degree programs. Wilcox, who has served as associate dean of the MBA for Executives (EMBA) format and on the degree programs strategy committee for the past three years, will oversee all formats of the Darden MBA. Wilcox co-chaired the design team of the new, integrated Executive MBA, which includes EMBA and the Global MBA for Executives (GEMBA). Wilcox will remain the NewMarket Corporation Professor of Business Administration and will continue his research, as well as teaching in the Marketing area.

Greg Fairchild will serve as associate dean for Washington, D.C., area initiatives and academic director of public policy and entrepreneurship. In this newly created role, Fairchild will serve as a liaison and ambassador for Darden in the D.C. area, providing faculty support for the integrated Executive MBA and serving as the administrator of Darden’s Rosslyn, Virginia, office. Fairchild brings relevant experience through his leadership of the D.C. Charter Committee, his interest and research in public policy and entrepreneurship, and his experience leading student groups through his course offerings in the D.C. area. In his role as academic director, he will also support the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Institute for Business in Society. He will remain the E. Thayer Bigelow Research Associate Professor of Business Administration and will continue teaching in the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Ethics area.

Paul Simko will serve as associate dean for the executive formats of the MBA. Simko, who served as associate dean of EMBA for the format’s first five graduating classes and served on the initial design team for GEMBA, will guide the integrated Executive MBA during its launch phase. Simko also co-chaired the design team for the new, integrated Executive MBA with Wilcox. Simko will remain associate professor of business administration and will continue his research and teaching in the Accounting area.

Wilcox, Fairchild and Simko join Professor Marc Lipson, associate dean of the residential MBA, and Yiorgos Allayannis, associate dean of the GEMBA format, on the faculty team that will continue to guide excellence across Darden’s degree programs and to deliver transformational student experiences.