February 10, 2004 -- Robert S. Harris, Dean of the the Darden School, and H. Eugene Lockhart Jr., chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, recently announced the appointment of Ann Taylor as Executive Director of the Darden School Foundation.

The Darden School Foundation is an independent, tax-exempt corporation dedicated to the advancement of the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration through promotion of philanthropic efforts of alumni, corporations, and friends of the school. The Foundation is also responsible for administering the school's Executive Education activities.

Working closely with Dean Harris and the Foundation Board of Trustees, Taylor will oversee all Foundation activities, including the Foundation's philanthropy, operational structure, policies and procedures.  She will be responsible for the operational management of the Foundation, implementation of policy, financial management and appropriate investment oversight. Taylor replaces C. Ray Smith, who retired last year.

"Ann brings exceptional background and experience in business, in foundations and with Darden and U.Va.," Harris said. "We are delighted to have her as part of the team."

A 1985 Darden MBA graduate and a 1980 graduate of the University's College of Arts & Sciences, Taylor was Chief Operating Officer of Gold Violin, Inc., a Charlottesville-based specialty retailer. Taylor was previously Executive Vice President, CFO and COO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello.

Taylor was a Shermet scholar at Darden and has been extensively involved with the University of Virginia, as a member of UVA's alumni board, and The Darden School, as Charlottesville alumni chapter president. She was a founding member of the Charlottesville Regional Tourism Council and served as a board member of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.