A self-proclaimed “voracious reader” and “tennis addict,” Scott C. Beardsley has been the dean of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business for nine years. His proudest moment every year, he shared effusively during a recent “Why Darden?” webinar, is seeing students graduate and go off to do amazing things in the world.
Read on to learn more about Darden’s leader!
LOVE OF TEACHING
Dean Beardsley is not required to teach any courses at Darden as part of his deanship; however, helping students learn is one of his favorite things to do. Here are a few of his courses:
- “Maximizing Leadership Potential in Sports and Business”
- “CEO Leadership in the 21st Century”
- “Corporate Strategic Leadership: Major Concepts from Strategy Consulting”
Diverging from the traditional classroom environment, another part of the dean’s acadmic calendar schedule is taking students abroad for Darden Worldwide courses. Darden Worldwide provides a $4,000 scholarship to each Full-Time MBA student to participate in a week-long global immersion course. Dean Beardsley recently took students to Italy to get a first hand look at the fashion luxury goods business (Ferrari, Prada, Gucci…oh my!).
ADVICE FOR PROSPECT STUDENTS
There are a lot of people that apply that actually don't know [what they want to do with their lives] yet. One of the things I'd like you to take away is that it's more than fine, it's actually normal, to not know.
WEBINAR
Watch this webinar recording, an informative Q&A session with Dean Beardsley and Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke, to hear more for yourself!
LIFELONG LEARNING
Dean Beardsley has a BS in Electric Engineering from Tufts University, an MBA from MIT Sloan, a Doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford (part-time).
He recently returned to Charlottesville after a short sabbatical at Oxford University, where he earned a certificate in artificial intelligence and competed (and won a rivalry match against Cambridge) as the oldest student athlete ever selected to play on the tennis team.
“I think the most important lesson for anyone is that it’s great to have passions and not just to be unidimensional and we would encourage you at Darden to do things more than studying. Have some fun,” he said.
So how does the dean of the world’s best public business school have time for all of this? Stamina. He shares that he learned this lesson the hard way: “If you are unable to sustain your energy levels over time, eventually you will burn out. So part of the trick, I have learned the hard way, is staying fit…and sleep.”
FUN FACTS
- Dean Beardsley lived in Belgium for 24 years
- He worked at McKinsey & Company for 26 years, focusing on Technology, Telecommunications and Strategy
- He and his family live on the Lawn at UVA Central Grounds
- His favorite book of all time is Lord of the Rings
- He speaks french at home
- He walks to Darden every day, about 30 minutes each way
- His favorite things about Charlottesville: incredible weather, the restaurant scene and UVA sports
