The Scale and Scope of Management Education I'd like to offer a few thoughts on Darden, our future and the value of our life-long partnership with you. Simply stated, our goal and the reason why I chose to become Dean of the University of Virginia's Graduate School of Business Administration, is to provide the best management education programs in the world. And, I measure how well we do in reaching that goal by one very broad objective and one very specific one. Our broad objective is to create and sustain transformational opportunities for our students, our faculty, our alumni, our donors and our corporate partners.
Transformation means changing lives in a profound and exhilarating way.
One other critical component in our transformational process is the development of people who will create, lead, and transform great organizations. This lifeline includes the cutting-edge preparation you receive as an MBA student and continues with the excellent work that Anne Harris, Assistant Dean for Career Development does in identifying companies that offer significant learning opportunities leading to that perfect first job. Our Corporate Advisory Board gives us the insight, perspective, and guidance from the private sector that we need to ensure a perfect match between the skills students develop here and the skills most in demand in the global marketplace. We're building upon that interaction by involving our Second Year students with 4,000 senior managers and executives who are on grounds each year as participants in our Executive Education programs. Since it's likely students will change jobs a number of times as they progress through their career, our Alumni Career Services office is designed to help shape a life-long career that will be truly satisfying.