2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the first woman graduate of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. This occasion inspired us to create a history of women’s impact at the School.
While not comprehensive, the resulting timeline highlights stories of inspiring leaders, industry-shaping professors, astoundingly successful students and other women who have shaped the business world.
Read a few entries below and explore the entire timeline here.
- In 1976, Charlotte H. Scott became the first tenured African-American faculty member at the University of Virginia with the title “University Professor of Business Administration and Commerce, and Senior Fellow, Tayloe Murphy Institute at the Darden School of Business.” Read about her life here.
- Since 2019, Princeton Review has ranked Darden in the top ten business schools for Greatest Resources for Women. In 2024, Darden rose to No. 6 overall, moving up three spots from the previous year.
- In 2025, Dean Scott Beardsley named Senior Associate Deans Melissa Thomas-Hunt and Yael Grushka-Cockayne as Vice Deans of Darden. Grushka-Cockayne has led the Darden Professional Degree formats, including the Executive MBA, Part-Time MBA and MSBA with the UVA McIntire School of Commerce since 2020. Thomas-Hunt has led the Darden Full-Time MBA program since 2023 and served as a special advisor to the Dean; additionally she is the Founding Academic Director of the Behavioral Research at Darden (BRAD) Lab.
The History of Women at Darden is ever-evolving. It is made up of individuals with unique paths, experiences, identities and perspectives that shape the history and impact of UVA Darden, on Grounds and beyond. We invite individuals to share their experiences and reflections. In doing so, you will contribute to a growing History of Women at Darden archive so that others may connect with current and prior generations at Darden.
