Sands Capital Management Founder Frank M. Sands Sr.’s gift of $68 million is the largest gift in The University of Virginia Darden School of Business’ 64-year history.
The new Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning will enable innovation in the degree, non-degree and online spaces to help retain and develop Darden’s world-class faculty transforming its educational facilities in Charlottesville.
Sands’ investment also honors his late wife, Marjorie R. Sands, a lifelong educator.
“The Darden School was a transformational experience for me, and I am an ardent supporter of its mission and values,” said Sands, who earned a Darden MBA in 1963. “I am a big believer in lifelong learning, and that learning is enabled by great faculty. I hope this gift will inspire others to give and hope that the school will continue to be a true force for good in the free markets and broader world.”
The University matching funds of $14 million from UVA’s Bicentennial Professors Fund and Sands’ gift delivers $82 million in total impact contributing to the University’s public launch of Honor the Future, UVA’s $5 billion campaign.
“Frank M. Sands Sr. and his family are helping propel Darden forward as we enter our third century,” UVA President Jim Ryan said. “This historically generous gift will allow Darden to reach even more students and continue to lead the way in global business education. I am incredibly grateful to Frank and the entire Sands family for their vision and generosity.”
“We are humbled and grateful for the Sands’ longstanding support and this incredible new gift,” Darden Dean Scott Beardsley said. “Frank and his family continue the legacy of the school’s founders to propel the Darden School toward reaching the full potential of its mission to improve the world by inspiring responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences.”
Darden will be transformed in various ways:
~ A $20 million endowment for the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning
~ A $35 million Sands Professorship Fund,
Four distinguished professorship chairs will be created in honor of Darden professors with a legacy of exceptional teaching and commitment to the school:John Forbes, Bob Landel, Yiorgos Allayannis, Dean Emeritus and University Professor Bob Bruner,
An additional eight emerging scholar chairs, called the Sands Professorships, will enable Darden to recruit and develop top faculty as the next generation of master teachers and scholars.
~ A $20 million fund for the construction of the new UVA Inn at Darden and Conference Center for Lifelong Learning
~ A $7 million fund for the C. Ray Smith Alumni Hall
Sands’ gift builds on the joint donation of $5 million that he and his son, Frank Sands, who earned his Darden MBA in 1994, recently made to build Darden’s new campus in the Rosslyn district of Arlington – the UVA Darden Sands Family Grounds – which opened in March 2018.
“Frank sets an incredible example for all Darden alumni,” said Elizabeth Weymouth, chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees and 1994 Darden MBA graduate. “We are inspired by his generosity and beyond grateful.”
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