Last week, we announced some big news: Darden received the largest gift in its history, as Sands Capital Management Founder Frank M. Sands Sr. (MBA ’63) made a $68 million gift to the School. We’re grateful for the incredible generosity and think all Darden stakeholders — including prospective students — should be excited by its significance.

Sands’ gift, which unlocks an additional $14 million in matching funds from the UVA Bicentennial Professorship Funds, will ensure Darden continues to excel at what it does best: teaching and providing opportunities for lifelong learning.

Specifically, the gift will establish the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning, establish new professorships, and jumpstart construction of a new inn and conference center for lifelong learning in Charlottesville.

The impact will be immense, but the immediate takeaway is that Darden, home of the world’s best education experience, is not standing still. Instead, as Dean Scott Beardsley recently said, the School continues toward its goal of reaching the full potential of its mission to improve the world by inspiring responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences.

Read more details about the impact the gift will make at Darden on The Darden Report.