Darden Dean Reappointed to New Four-Year Term

Darden Dean Bob Bruner chaired the globalization task force.

University of Virginia Darden School of Business Dean Bob Bruner – the business school’s eighth dean — was reappointed today (May 2) eek by University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan. Bruner, who began his tenure as dean in August 2005, will lead the school in his new term through July 2015.

President Sullivan wrote in an email to the Darden Community that she is grateful “for his steadfast leadership and willingness to undertake a second term. It will be my pleasure to work closely with Bob to accomplish goals that are both essential and ambitious.”

Bruner’s reappointment was reviewed by a committee of faculty, staff, students and alumni, chaired by Darden Professor Paul Farris. The committee noted some of Bruner’s many strengths, including his strong relationship with alumni; his excellence as a communicator; and his use of technology to communicate news. Bruner is well-known for his commentary on life, business and current events published in his popular Dean’s Blog. He also “tweets” regularly on his Twitter account and is often cited in the media around the world.

Bruner’s extensive travel, both here and abroad as the public face of Darden, his tireless work ethic and his deep commitment to the Darden School and the University were also cited by Sullivan as reasons for his reappointment.

“The stability, innovation and leadership afforded by Dean Bruner have re-energized the Darden Community and set us on a great trajectory for the future,” said Henry Skelsey (MBA ’84), Chairman of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees.

Before his appointment as dean in 2005, Bruner served as the founding executive director of Darden’s Batten Institute, which focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation. There, he expanded Darden’s Business Incubator, established a Fellows Program, promoted research, and encouraged the creation of new courses. Bruner is also chairman of the Board of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, an alliance of 15 leading American business schools and over 100 top corporations in the United States that aims to enhance diversity in business education and leadership.

Bruner is a leadehas guided two curriculum design efforts at Darden in which he promoted Darden’s hallmark approach: instruction integrated across fields, an enterprise point of view of the leader and general manager, and high-engagement discussion. He has taught students in the MBA and MBA for Executives formats, as well as doctoral students.

A native of Chicago, Bruner received a B.A. from Yale University in 1971 and the M.B.A. and D.B.A. degrees from Harvard University in 1974 and 1982, respectively. A Darden faculty member since 1982 and winner of leading teaching awards at the University of Virginia and within the Commonwealth of Virginia, he teaches and conducts research in finance and management.

 

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