The Board of Visitors appointed Scott Beardsley, current dean of the Darden School of Business, as the University’s 10th president Dec. 19, following former University President Jim Ryan’s resignation and an approximately five-month search. Despite having a long-term career in the private sector working in consulting, Beardsley shifted towards education leadership in 2015 and, more than 10 years later, will begin his position as the University’s president today.
Beardsley, who previously served as the ninth dean of Darden, has spent the past 10 years overseeing Darden’s academics and operations. He launched Future Year Scholars — a deferred admissions program for undergraduates — and reintroduced two of the school’s Ph.D. programs in Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship, as well as Data Analytics and Decision Science, among a variety of other accomplishments.
Sankaran Venkataraman, senior associate dean for faculty and research at Darden, has worked closely with Beardsley since he began as dean and described Beardsley’s leadership style as “non-hierarchical.”
“He's more like a first among equals,” Venkataraman said. “He's highly respectful. He listens to ideas very carefully. You don't get a sense [that he is the] boss and things like that. So it's more that we are in this together.”
In addition, Venkataraman described Beardsley’s leadership style as patient and thoughtful.
“He's all about ideas and good ideas. That doesn't mean that he doesn't have his own convictions, and he will not pursue those things, but he's very patient,” Venkataraman said. “[He] listens carefully, and then makes his decisions.”
Beyond his work to enhance Darden’s academics, Beardsley has also helped raise $632 million towards Darden’s endowment and created the LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business, focused on advancing research and education regarding AI.
Venkataraman described Beardsley as a “competitive” person, and he said that he looks forward to seeing Beardsley bring this spirit to advance the University as a whole. Darden student Sarah Hart, who took a course with Beardsley this semester titled Maximizing Leadership Potential in Sports and Business, echoed a similar sentiment, noting that the AI institute serves as an example of Beardsley’s forward-looking vision.
“[He is] someone who understands and is interested in ensuring that we're remaining really competitive and kind of on the forefront of [higher education],” Hart said. “Wanting to make sure the students are still able to receive that top notch education, no matter what the field is, I think is something I'm hopeful that he'll be able to bring through with him [to the presidency].”
A version of Beardsley’s resume, replaced earlier this year, includes a section under his position as dean which focuses on “Global DEI.” Within this section, focused on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Beardsley noted that he achieved record minority enrollment at Darden and created a position within the school called global chief diversity officer, a position which was removed from Darden’s leadership website between May and June 2025, according to a WebArchive search.
However, a more recent version of Beardsley’s resume replaced this section with one titled “Global Excellence,” and removed nine references to diversity.
Before pursuing a career in higher education leadership, Beardsley spent 26 years with McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, at which he moved through a number of positions and was based in Brussels, Belgium for 24 years. He began his career as an associate and rose to the position of Global Leader of Learning and Leadership Development. He was additionally elected to the Global Board of Directors in 2011.
The University’s prior four presidents — Robert O’Neil, John Casteen III, Teresa Sullivan and Jim Ryan — came from long-term careers in higher education leadership, a contrast to Beardsley’s more recent shift to academia.
Beardsley’s resume, which details his experience at McKinsey, compares McKinsey’s operations to that of an academic institution, with a “strong shared governance” structure and ongoing learning programs for partners. The resume also lists a number of teaching experiences at McKinsey which included educational workshops for consultants and strategy courses for executives.
Hart said that she is excited to see him bring his leadership style, influenced by his time at McKinsey, to the broader student body.
“He really wants to listen to people, but also wants to hear the perspectives that you're coming from and why you have those opinions, and I think that that's all kind of part of his consulting background,” Hart said.
Venkataraman said that Beardsley’s background has helped widen Darden’s mission and find creative solutions to achieve institutional goals.
“He comes from a consulting background, so it is almost in his bones to identify problems … that need to be addressed,” Venkataraman said. “Along with the problems, he's very creative in the kinds of solutions he devises, and I think that also comes from his consulting background.”
Two years after leaving private industry for academics, the now-president authored a book in 2017 titled, “Higher Calling: The Rise of Nontraditional Leaders in Academia,” in which he describes his shift from McKinsey towards higher education leadership and the challenges that nontraditional candidates face in searches for leadership positions at universities.
In the text, Beardsley detailed his initial shift from McKinsey towards academia, driven by the mandatory retirement age of 60 at McKinsey as well as his interest in education and research. In 2012, he applied to be president of Dartmouth College, a search led at the time by Isaacson, Miller — the search firm which led the University’s presidential search. He also applied for the presidency at Yale University, but was not selected for either position — however, Beardsley wrote in his book that this did not discourage his efforts to shift his career towards higher education.
The book notes that following these searches, Beardsley met with search firm Chair John Isaacson, who advised him to pursue a doctorate degree and then lower-level positions as dean of a business school or chief operating officer of a university. Beardsley earned a doctorate degree in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 before he began his role as Darden dean in August of that year.
Currently, Beardsley is serving as chair for the executive vice president and provost search committee, described as a position with the closest working relationship to the president. He has not announced whether he will continue to serve as chair.
In remarks following his appointment by the Board, Beardsley outlined priorities for his time as president, including serving as an apolitical leader. He noted that he also plans to work closely with Mitch Rosner, executive vice president and chief executive officer of U.Va. Health, provide support for U.Va. Athletics and commit to high-quality research and education.
“I stand before you as a mission-driven leader … not a politically-driven leader,” Beardsley said after his appointment Dec. 19. “This is a moment to move beyond division, to renew trust and to focus on what unites us.”
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