The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school associated with the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs. The School was founded in 1954 and is named after Colgate Whitehead Darden, Jr., a former Democratic congressman, governor of Virginia, and former president of the University of Virginia. The Darden School is well known for its commitment to the case method and its high workload in the early stages of the full-time MBA. It fosters a close community spirit, with supportive faculty and close links with local and international business.