Darden Community, Full-Time MBA

Experience Darden Podcast 2019: A Retrospective

Did you know that Darden Admissions has not one but two podcasts? The ExecMBA Podcast is our weekly podcast all about the Executive MBA experience at Darden, while Experience Darden is  focused on the full-time MBA experience. It also publishes weekly and features conversations with students, faculty, staff and more. So many podcasts. So little time. 

Spoiler alert: We’ve heard you, and we’re excited to announce that the UVA Darden podcasts will be available on Spotify soon! Keep an eye on the blog for updates. 

If you’re new to our podcast channel and are wondering where to start, here are a few of our favorite Experience Darden episodes from 2019. We’ll also be sharing highlights from The ExecMBA Podcast later this week. 

Experience Darden – Meet Darden’s Senior Leadership

Sometimes, you can’t pick just one. Over the past few months on the Experience Darden podcast, we’ve featured regular conversations with members of Darden’s senior leadership team. Curious about how Darden faculty and staff are working to prepare students for both the present and future of business? Start here:

  • Tom Steenburgh – Ep. 44 – Tom Steenburgh is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and the Full-Time Program, and in this far-ranging conversation, he shares insights about recent pre-matriculation innovations, as well as how his perspective on the first and second years of study at Darden.  
  • Marc Johnson – Ep. 40 – Curious about Darden’s global opportunities? Be sure to check out this interview with Marc Johnson, Senior Director for Global Affairs and Enterprise Initiatives.
  • Jeanne Liedtka – Ep. 39 – It’s not every day you get to hear from a Design Thinking expert. Wondering what Picasso and Gaudi have to do with the Darden MBA? Senior Associate Dean for Degree Programs Jeanne Liedtka, explains it all in this thought-provoking conversation. 
  • Christie Julien – Ep. 34 – Meet the newest member of Darden’s leadership team! Christie is Assistant Dean for Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and she stopped by the podcast to share more about her background as well as her goals for her first few months in her role. 
  • Mike Lenox – Ep. 32 – Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer Mike Lenox joined us on the podcast to talk about the future of the MBA and why he thinks the Darden learning experience offers incredible value for business leaders in the age of automation. 

Experience Darden – Ep. 42 – Latin America Special

Our first double feature! What’s better than one podcast interview? Two interviews, naturally.

Later this month, Executive Director of Admissions Dawna Clarke, is hitting the road for a few weeks of recruiting in Latin America. In anticipation of her travels, Clarke joined us on the podcast to talk about her upcoming trip and why she thinks Darden is a natural fit for students from the region. 

For this second part of this episode, Director of Admissions Whitney Kestner sat down with two of our students from South America, Julie Calderon Benavente (Peru) and Henrique Argollo (Brazil) to discuss their backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden and what they’ve enjoyed about their time in Charlottesville.

Additional Listening: Curious about  the resources available to international students at Darden? Be sure to also check out the interview with Larry Mueller, Assistant Dean of Global Advising. Fun fact: Larry is a Darden alumnus and he has also visited over 90 countries, including Antarctica.    

Experience Darden – David Touve – Ep. 38

Passionate about entrepreneurship? This conversation with the Senior Director of Ventures with the iLab at UVA, is a must listen. In this interview, David Touve details many of the curricular and extracurricular resources available to students interested in starting (or at least, exploring) a new venture during their time at Darden. 

Additional listening: Executive Director of the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Sean Carr was one of our first guests on the Experience Darden podcast. In this conversation, Carr shares a holistic overview of the many ways the Batten Institute is promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and technology at Darden (and beyond!). 

Experience Darden – Sarah Elliott/Ed Warwick – Ep. 37

On the road this fall, it seemed like everyone wanted to know how Darden puts together the Learning Teams. You know who has the answers? Sarah Elliott and Ed Warwick. 

Elliott and Warwick are part of the Student Affairs team that supports students at Darden. Their episode highlights insights about extracurricular life at Darden, Learning Teams, some of the biggest challenges students experience during their first year and some things you can do now to diminish this learning curve. The more you know! 

Experience Darden – Student Organization Life

We love highlighting the many ways students shape the Darden community. UVA has a tradition of student self-governance and, as you’ve likely guessed from Darden’s 50+ student organizations, students play an active role in directing extracurricular life at Darden. 

Interested in learning more about our student organizations? Check out with the interviews below, but we also encourage you to reach out to the leadership of any organizations of interest. They, along with our Student Ambassadors, are a great resource as you continue to learn about Darden:

And be sure to tune in to these career club-oriented episodes as well:

UVA Darden Podcasts also features a host of other great content, including Leadership Speaker Series talks, Leadership Unscripted interviews, Darden Founders Project conversations and more. Subscribe and never miss a post!

Check out faculty thought leadership published on Ideas to Action. And stay connected with us via social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, WeChat