University Professor and Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration Mike Lenox stepped into a new role as Interim Dean at the Darden School of Business in January 2026, following Dean Scott Beardsley’s appointment as the University of Virginia’s 10th President.
On 22 January 2026, Managing Director of Admissions Whitney Kestner hosted a webinar to introduce prospective and admitted students to Interim Dean Lenox.
Select webinar recording chapters include:
- Goals as Interim Dean
- Teaching with the Case Method
- AI + Darden
- The MBA Job Market
- Passion for Charlottesville
- Entrepreneurial Energy at UVA
- Creating Transformational Leaders
- And more!
Watch the recording below to get to know Dean Lenox beyond the title!
Background
Born and raised in Philadelphia (a self-proclaimed Eagles fan), Interim Dean Lenox holds two degrees in systems engineering from UVA — making him a Double Hoo! He continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in Technology Management and Policy.
Lenox came to Darden in 2008 to serve as the Associate Dean of Innovation with the Batten Institute of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology. Since then, he has held various strategy and advisory positions across the University of Virginia. He currently teaches strategy in the First Year Core and “Strategy in the Digital Age” at Darden.
Read Lenox’s biography on Darden’s website to learn more about our new interim dean, including his leadership and teaching positions, research, published books and more!
What’s Next for Darden and the MBA Degree
Interim Dean Lenox intends to capitalize on the incredible momentum of Dean Beardsley’s work while preparing Darden for the next permanent dean.
While discussing whether the MBA will be become obsolete, Dean Lenox remarked that the hypothetical “death of the MBA” is something he’s been reading about for 25 years: “[The MBA] has been the most resilient, important, status and certification that we have seen, especially in the business community. There are trends, there are things that come and go – the MBA persists and endures, and I have every reason to believe that will be the case moving forward.”
We can’t wait to see where a Darden MBA takes you.
