Darden Admissions News Blog

Upcoming Consortium Deadline: November 15

admissions — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:12:12 +0000

I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I love my job and meet incredible people all the time. As a member of the Diversity Team in the Office of Admissions, I have been afforded the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and I get to work closely with several organizations focused on diversifying business schools and corporate America. I hope that you’ve been keeping up with all of the blog entries, tweets and videos that we’ve shared with you throughout 2009 highlighting Darden’s commitment in this area.

One of the organizations Darden has been in partnership with since 1992 is the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Not only does the Consortium offer a wonderful streamlined application process but it also offers a fantastic network for current students and alumni centered around a shared commitment to diversity in education and business. I encourage ALL prospective students to learn about the Consortium as it is a great resource for the things mentioned above. If you are applying via the Consortium, please remember that the first deadline is November 15, 2009. I look forward to reviewing your application.

Kellie Sauls
Associate Director of Admissions
SaulsK@darden.virginia.edu
Twitter.com/SaulsK

Women in Technology Event Tonight

admissions — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:52:42 +0000

Tonight Darden will be hosting an exciting panel discussion focusing on women who are using different styles of engagement with social media technologies. Participants in the panel include:

Sonya Donaldson, Editor-At-Large for Technology, Black Enterprise Magazine
Adrienne Graham, Founder and CEO of Empower ME! Corporation, a professional networking company for women
Shireen Mitchell, an entrepreneur who is also chair of Media and Technology Task Force of the National Council of Women’s Organizations
Angie Brement, Entrepreneur and blogger for “C’ville Entremoms”

The event will be webcast live starting at 6:30 PM (EST) at: www.darden.virginia.edu/live

It will also be available on Darden’s YouTube channel and iTunes U later this week.

The Virginia Film Festival and the Darden Producers Forum

admissions — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:45 +0000

This weekend is the 22^nd Annual Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville. The Festival’s program is designed to resemble a “comprehensive course on a cultural theme, which illuminates the social and artistic impact of moviemaking.” The Festival selections range from Hollywood premiers to classic, documentary, and experimental films and videos, and also include a variety of speakers and panels. “Funny Business” is the theme of the Festival this year and several special guests will be participating in events, including Matthew Broderick, Alan Ball, and Cherry Jones.

The Darden School of Business participates in the Virginia Film Festival by hosting the Darden Producers Forum, coordinated by the Media, Entertainment & Sports Club. Mike Million (Founder, Third Story Films) and Marc Liberman (Co-founder, Cavalier Films) will be speaking this afternoon about the current business climate of the film industry, particularly for small budget films.

Learn about the Darden Partners Association

admissions — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:12:11 +0000

In this week’s video blog, Director of Admissions Sara Neher talks about the Darden Partners Association (DPA), an active group that helps spouses, families, and significant others of Darden students make a smooth transition to Charlottesville and business school life. Watch the video to learn more:

Sara Neher’s Video Blog 11-5-09

Darden Health Care Conference this Friday

admissions — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:52:45 +0000

Darden’s Health Care Conference, focusing on public policy and patient access, will take place this Friday, November 6. The event, sponsored by Darden’s Health Care Club, will include a panel discussion moderated by Professor Martin Davidson as well as the following speakers:

Carolyn Engelhard – Assistant Professor, UVa School of Medicine
Sarah Wells-Kocsis – Executive Director, Amgen
Dr. Jane Orient – Executive Director, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Peter Slone – Vice President, Medtronic

Visit Health Care: Resources to Get Involved for information about other health care related MBA opportunities at Darden.

Entrepreneurship Opportunities at Darden

admissions — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:25:55 +0000

Watch the following videos of Philippe Sommer, Darden’s Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, for information about a variety of entrepreneurship-related MBA opportunities:

Darden Business Incubator
The Darden Business Incubator is designed to help MBA students develop promising early-stage business ventures. In addition to fostering an entrepreneurial community, the Incubator provides participating students with $13,000 in non-dilutive funding to be used on their business ventures.

Darden Business Incubator

Darden Business Projects
Darden Business Projects (DBPs) are for-credit MBA projects in which students design their own applied business project in consultation with Darden faculty. There are three types of DBPs: venturing, consulting, and case writing.

Darden Business Projects

Batten Venture Internship Program
The Batten Venture Internship Program provides Darden students with the opportunity to pursue summer internships with venture capital firms and their portfolio companies or other start-ups.

Batten Venture Internship Program

Technology Accelerator Course
The Technology Accelerator course is designed for MBA students who wish to learn first-hand how to commercialize inventions. The course explores the process of finding a new patent or technology and taking it to market.

Technology Accelerator Course

The Darden Community Farmers Market

admissions — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:06:45 +0000

Last week Darden started a 5-week pilot project (organized by the Darden Student Association, in conjunction with the Darden chapter of Net Impact) called the Darden Community Farmers Market. Through November 19, vendors from Charlottesville’s City Market are setting up shop every Thursday afternoon for two hours in Flagler Courtyard on the Darden Grounds. The local farmers and artisans offer organic, locally-grown fruits, vegetables, and baked goods to the Darden community. Second Year student Tack Richardson notes, “Charlottesville has a lot of great farms. My hope is that the Market continues to be a great community event where Darden students can support local farmers and learn about the local food movement.” For more information, read the full article on the Darden website: Local Farmers Set up Market at Darden.

Sustainability and Renewable Energy Forum

admissions — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:15:36 +0000

This week, the Darden School of Business is hosting the annual Sustainability and Renewable Energy Forum. The event is co-sponsored by Darden’s Net Impact and Energy clubs, with support from the Marketing, General Management and Operations, and Finance clubs. The Forum includes panel discussions on the role of sustainability in the “new economy” and opportunities for utilities, smart grid, and renewable power. The forum also features two keynote speakers and a networking reception. Senior representatives from a variety of companies, including GE, MeadWestvaco, APEX Wind, Constellation Energy, Suzlon North America, and Interface, are in attendance. For information on panelists, speakers, and photos from the event, visit the Forum website.

October 28 Application Deadline

admissions — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:56:52 +0000

The first application deadline for Darden’s full-time MBA program is Wednesday, October 28^th at 11:59 PM (EST). The Admissions Office will have additional technical support working throughout the next two days. If you have any difficulties in submitting your application, please email admissionstechsupport@darden.virginia.edu. If you are not able to submit your application due to technical difficulties, we will grant you an extension—please just stay in touch with our office if you encounter a problem.

We look forward to reading your applications soon!

The European Team

admissions — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:05:17 +0000

Greetings from Charlottesville! The leaves have started to turn, and we are enjoying the beautiful fall colors of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is Kathi and Haley, the European recruitment team. Kathi just returned from some exciting adventures in Europe—she visited Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Lisbon, Madrid, and London. Photos from Frankfurt, Milan, and Lisbon are included in this blog post. We also have events coming up in Moscow and Copenhagen (visit Events & Receptions for more information). It is an exciting time as we travel the globe and share what Darden is all about. We were also very fortunate to have some of our faculty and numerous alumni attend the events to represent the School. They served as wonderful resources for the prospective students’ questions regarding the case study method, entrepreneurship, the benefits of a general management degree, and recruiting opportunities.

And there is so much here on Grounds to enjoy—we recently hosted the annual International Food Festival, which is always a crowd-pleaser, not to mention the U2 concert earlier this month. Bono came with an unbelievable stage set-up and quite an entourage! As you can see, we really do have the best of both worlds, and we hope to see you in Cville soon.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

Kathi Grant, Assistant Director of Admissions
grantk@darden.virginia.edu

Haley Whitlock Gyory, Associate Director of Admissions
gyoryh@darden.virginia.edu