MBA - Culture and Community - Inclusive Excellence at Darden

Culture & Community

Inclusive Excellence at Darden

An Inclusive MBA Community

The Darden School of Business is a diverse, thriving community of MBA students, faculty and alumni. Because of the highly participatory nature of the MBA program — both inside and outside of the classroom — Darden actively fosters an inclusive community.

Vibrant. Inclusive. Highly Engaged.

The Darden School improves the world by developing and inspiring responsible leaders and by advancing knowledge. We commit to develop the School’s ability to leverage our diversity — the multitude of differences among all of our stakeholders — to achieve excellence in business education in today’s complex global marketplace. We do so in the service of our mission, adhering to an unwavering commitment to fairness and equity.

Work to leverage difference at Darden flows through three funnels of activity: entry, experience and exit.

Entry
Darden invites globally diverse students, alumni, faculty and staff to the School through rigorous and fair processes that ensure the community is comprised of a variety of voices.

The School’s goal is to enhance the diversity of students, faculty and staff who come to Darden by:

Continuing to collaborate with diversity partners for all of degree programs

Looking for new pipelines for hiring diverse faculty and staff
Experience
The School develops practices and cultivates a culture that reflects and incorporates the worldviews of diverse community members. In this inclusive culture, the community learns important — and sometimes uncomfortable — truths from one another, which results in more educated global leaders and citizens.

Darden’s goal is to be a more inclusive, vibrant, and high performing environment by:

Establishing an “Inclusive Darden” training and development program for faculty and staff

Leveraging local and world events to engage the community in constructive conversation
Exit
Darden leverages networks of alumni, faculty and staff who, though no longer operating solely within the walls of Darden, remain partners of and resources for the School.

The School’s goal is to heighten connectivity to external stakeholders, especially those who have previously been a part of Darden, by:

Planning with alumni engagement staff and alumni chapter leadership to ensure School offerings and events appeal to a broad audience.

Working with School leadership boards and committees to achieve representation that ensures all stakeholder voices are heard.

Darden's diversity and inclusion efforts are led by Senior Associate Dean and Global Chief Diversity Officer Martin Davidson. To ensure we stay on task, we will continue to monitor and respond strategically to admissions and hiring data; feedback from students, staff, faculty and alumni; retention and turnover data; faculty development; and alumni engagement and giving.

Darden will be the best business school in the world at attracting, incorporating and leveraging diverse perspectives in ways that continuously improve the performance and enrich the experience of everyone within the Darden enterprise.

Darden invites globally diverse students, alumni, faculty and staff to the School through rigorous and fair processes that ensure the community is comprised of a variety of voices.

The School’s goal is to enhance the diversity of students, faculty and staff who come to Darden by:

Continuing to collaborate with diversity partners for all of degree programs
Looking for new pipelines for hiring diverse faculty and staff

The School develops practices and cultivates a culture that reflects and incorporates the worldviews of diverse community members. In this inclusive culture, the community learns important — and sometimes uncomfortable — truths from one another, which results in more educated global leaders and citizens.

Darden’s goal is to be a more inclusive, vibrant, and high performing environment by:

Establishing an “Inclusive Darden” training and development program for faculty and staff
Leveraging local and world events to engage the community in constructive conversation

Darden leverages networks of alumni, faculty and staff who, though no longer operating solely within the walls of Darden, remain partners of and resources for the School.

The School’s goal is to heighten connectivity to external stakeholders, especially those who have previously been a part of Darden, by:

Planning with alumni engagement staff and alumni chapter leadership to ensure School offerings and events appeal to a broad audience.
Working with School leadership boards and committees to achieve representation that ensures all stakeholder voices are heard.

Darden's diversity and inclusion efforts are led by Senior Associate Dean and Global Chief Diversity Officer Martin Davidson. To ensure we stay on task, we will continue to monitor and respond strategically to admissions and hiring data; feedback from students, staff, faculty and alumni; retention and turnover data; faculty development; and alumni engagement and giving.

Darden will be the best business school in the world at attracting, incorporating and leveraging diverse perspectives in ways that continuously improve the performance and enrich the experience of everyone within the Darden enterprise.

Darden fosters an environment where students learn and interact with classmates of all backgrounds in a meaningful way. The way the Darden MBA harnesses the diversity of its students to enrich the educational experience is profound. In one year alone, Darden has drastically impacted my personal and professional development by continuing to challenge how I view myself, my peers, the world, and how I will navigate the opportunities that exist within it.

Megan Scott (Class of 2023)

President, Black Business Student Association

Office of Global Recruitment

Martin N. Davidson

Johnson and Higgins Professor of Business Administration Senior Associate Dean and Global Chief Diversity Officer

Christie Julien

Senior Assistant Dean and Chief Community and Connection Officer

Around Grounds

UVA Darden students and alumni gathered in the Washington, D.C. area for the student-run Black Business Student Association's (BBSA) Black Excellence Gala.