Darden Dedicates Renovated C. Ray Smith Alumni Hall

With Professor Emeritus C. Ray Smith (MBA ’58) and family in attendance, Dean Scott Beardsley this spring dedicated the newly renovated C. Ray Smith Alumni Hall.

Smith, a distinguished educator, administrator and visionary leader, played a foundational role in advancing the Darden School during its first decades.

“I think it’s only appropriate that we name this building, the alumni hall, in your name because I can’t think of anybody at Darden who knows more alumni than you and has made a bigger difference in more people’s lives,” Beardsley said to Smith during the dedication.

The renovated Smith Hall — formerly a mix of hotel rooms for the old UVA Inn at Darden and a bookstore — now houses academic, administrative and programmatic spaces to support alumni engagement, online learning and executive education. The building is also home to the Marjorie R. and Frank M. Sands Sr. Institute for Lifelong Learning, Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning and the Darden School Foundation.

MBA students celebrated their last day of class in May with the School Was Outstanding Today (S.W.O.T.) Carnival in Wilkinson Courtyard.