From President Scott C. Beardsley: Driven by the Mission
When faced with a challenge, I have always found it helpful to return to one basic question: What is our mission?
Over 26 years as a senior partner with a global management consulting firm and almost 11 years as the dean of the nation’s top public business school, this question has helped me guide leaders and steer global organizations as they navigate complex challenges and rapidly shifting technological, economic and political landscapes.
As dean of Darden, I found that the school’s mission to inspire responsible leaders through transformational learning experiences informed every decision our team made. Whether hiring a new generation of outstanding faculty members, launching forward-thinking projects like UVA’s first AI institute, or pursuing fundraising and capital projects to give our students, faculty and staff much-needed resources, the mission was our touchstone.
As I begin my role as UVA’s 10th president, my top priority is bolstering the university’s affairs, earning trust and building on the excellent work of my predecessors to meet the challenges and opportunities of UVA’s third century.
My team and I will be guided every step of the way by the key question: What is our mission and how can we deliver its full potential?
The University of Virginia is a public institution of higher learning guided by a founding vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of talented students from all walks of life. It serves the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world by developing responsible citizen leaders and professionals; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care.
Two things stand out to me. First, UVA is a public institution with a mission of public service. This is an aspect of UVA that the presidents before me emphasized and that I plan to continue. One of the first things I did upon my appointment was to reach out to former presidents Jim Ryan (Law class of ’92) and Teresa Sullivan, as well as former interim and acting presidents Paul Mahoney and J.J. Wagner Davis, to express my deep thanks for their service and listen to their advice, perspectives and counsel.
UVA is an extraordinary place, and I am committed to preserving what makes it special while thoughtfully improving where we can. Real progress often comes from the collective impact of many small, intentional changes—together, they can make a big difference.
UVA is an extraordinary place, and I am committed to preserving what makes it special while thoughtfully improving where we can.
UVA’s service mission includes taking steps to make its education affordable and accessible for qualified students and their families. It includes preparing students to serve the public in their chosen professions at the world’s best institutions—public, private and nonprofit—and encouraging alumni to continue the mission of service they began here on Grounds. It includes serving our community in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region and serving the commonwealth, the nation and the world through education, research, discovery and patient care.
Second, UVA is focused on excellence. In the last year alone, UVA was ranked the No. 2 best value public university in America by both U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Time ranked UVA as the No. 3 public school for leaders, and UVA Health University Medical Center is the No. 1 hospital in Virginia as ranked by Newsweek. In addition, LinkedIn, in a new look at career outcomes, ranked UVA the No. 1 public school for graduates’ long-term career success. Some other rankings indicate we have yet to achieve our full potential.
Rankings are not everything, but they provide some facts and feedback on important parts of our mission. They are also a good reminder that the university we are privileged to love and serve remains one of the very best places in the country to live, learn, conduct research, receive care and play collegiate sports.
As our family moves to Carr’s Hill, I have been honored and humbled to have lived in Pavilion I on the Lawn for the last decade. It is a privilege to interact daily with our students, who never fail to inspire me and are always willing to pet our golden retriever, Lawnie.
At the heart of UVA are also its faculty, health care providers and staff members. They do their jobs with dedication and passion, and a significant part of my role is ensuring they have what they need to thrive in their work.
Leading this community—and carrying out its mission—is the highest honor of my life. I cannot promise to do the job perfectly, but I can promise to do it with passion, resolve, humility and a deep love for the university, which I know we all share. I am optimistic for the future.
Scott C. Beardsley
President of the University of Virginia
