In January 2026, the newly appointed interim dean of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business (Darden), Michael Lenox, was considering the future of the school. More than a decade before, Darden had set the goal to become a top-five US business school by 2025, an ambition had motivated the 2015 search that led to Darden’s ninth dean, Scott Beardsley, and the strategic plan that followed. Despite skepticism at the time, through bold strategic actions Darden had achieved that stretch goal. Now Lenox faced a new question: What should Darden aspire to next—and was a more ambitious goal credible given the school’s history, culture, and competitive position? Could Darden aspire to be the best business school in the world? This field-based case surveys the changing field of graduate management education and explores Darden internal and public peer data about admissions, finances, fundraising, faculty publications, AI, career outcomes, and more, to inform strategic planning for the 2026 dean search and beyond.