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Finishing at a Sprint Q. Perhaps of equal importance, what has remained the same?
In an interview with UVA Today, Dean Robert F. Bruner recently looked back at Darden’s accomplishments over his tenure as dean and to what lies ahead. Here are a few highlights from the Q&A, which can be read in full online at www.news.virginia.edu. Q. In your 10 years as Darden’s dean, what changes strike you as the most pronounced or significant? A. The global financial crisis and recession, which was the worst in many years. The accelerating adoption of new technologies is surprising to everyone. Only 10 or 15 years ago, we were still focused on the personal computer; now the digital delivery of learning experiences has shifted from large-screen, fixed devices to very mobile devices. Coming over the horizon is the Internet of Things — new devices, smart watches and measurement devices of all kinds that I think will continue to change how people interact with educational institutions. 12
THE DARDEN REPORT
Portrait of Dean Bruner by Charlottesville artist Rob Browning, unveiled on 23 April
PHOTO: ANDREW SHURTLEFF
PHOTO: MELODY ROBBINS
A. Our students have a desire to learn from each other. That’s no surprise. It’s what we tell the world, and so we attract people who are willing to engage with others rather than sit and take notes for two years. We attract people who are willing to buy into the U.Va. honor code, which sets a demanding standard of personal integrity, not everyone’s cup of tea. We have students who have a keen appetite for the practical world of business, disproving a common criticism that business school students are very good at analyzing things, but cannot tell you what the analysis means. That’s not us; our students are very focused on taking action. Q. What is your biggest hope for your successor, Scott Beardsley? A. My big hope is that he has a very successful transition into the dean’s office. There is really no clear training that you can take to become a dean. You have a learning experience in the first year that is really phenomenal. He’s a wonderful man. I think he brings extraordinary life experience and perspective that can help the Darden School raise its game. We need to listen to him and we need to help him understand what is unique about Darden and what needs to be strengthened. Q. What are you looking forward to about the next stage of your career? A. I am looking forward to returning to the classroom. That is what drew me into this career in the first place. I love case teaching, I love the interaction with students, I love seeing how they grow across the course experience. One of the things I love the most about teaching is the look of “aha!” in the eyes of students as they get a point.
U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan named Dean Bruner a University Professor.
Reunion. Graduation. State of the School. Alumni Global Leadership Forum in China. One celebratory reception in his honor after the next. Dean Bruner’s busy spring schedule proved he was taking his own advice, delivered in a blog post, by finishing at a sprint. Here are a few highlights of his recent activities and honors before the start of a one-year research leave and return to the faculty for the 2016–17 academic year.
Dean of the Decade Celebration
“Bob is the kind of leader many of us aspire to be — humble, passionate and driven.” Those were the words of James A. Cooper (MBA ’84), chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, as he kicked off the Dean of the Decade celebration in Dean Bruner’s honor on 23 April. During the event, an audience composed of alumni and guests from around the University learned that one of Dean Bruner’s final priorities — raising $10 million for the Dean’s Fund to support faculty — had not only been met but surpassed, reaching $11.6 million. Dean Bruner also learned the fund had been renamed the Robert F. Bruner Dean’s Fund for Faculty Excellence to commemorate his indelible mark on Darden.