UVA Batten 2030 Strategic Plan
Expanding Access. Driving Impact. Advancing Innovation.
A Focused Vision for Growth, Impact, and Leadership
The UVA Batten School’s 2030 Strategic Plan sets a clear path to expand opportunity, strengthen research and reputation, and invest in the people and ideas shaping public policy and leadership. Built on an entrepreneurial foundation, it prioritizes purposeful growth to keep the School agile, impactful, and competitive.
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AccessReach and empower more of the promising leaders who will shape their communities by building pathways to UVA Batten and new programs.
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ImpactAmplify the reach and impact of the ideas and people we cultivate.
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InnovationPioneer the next generation of leadership development and policy solutions.
Build bridges to UVA Batten undergraduate education for high-potential leaders from all backgrounds.
Goal: Graduate 150 outstanding BA students/year by 2030.
Actions:
- Enhance the Bridge to Batten pilot, which is recruiting and preparing first-generation and low-income UVA undergraduates for success as Batten majors.
- Develop a Bridge to Batten pathway for qualified community college students interested in leadership and public policy.
Build bridges to UVA Batten’s MPP program for high-potential policy leaders with diverse personal and professional experiences.
Goal: Graduate 100 outstanding MPP students/year by 2030.
Actions:
- Increase access to public service careers and attract applicants from across the country and the globe through targeted fellowship opportunities.
- Reduce financial barriers for graduate students through increasing the average value of scholarships awarded.
Develop innovative programs for new populations of learners, including working professionals and those with duration/location constraints.
Goal: Launch a minimum of 100 (full-time equivalent) graduate, certificate, and micro-credential students/year through new academic programs by 2030.
Actions:
- Launch at least one shorter-term (e.g., 12 month) graduate degree to complement the existing 2-year MPP and graduate certificates.
- Develop and launch high-quality and effective online, hybrid, and NOVA offerings (including micro-credentials) that can translate into credit and “stack” toward a degree.
- Develop capabilities to produce and deliver effective online educational programs.
Access
Grow the faculty ~50% with established and promising teacher-scholar-practitioners.
Goal: 15-20 additional promising and established faculty members across disciplines and policy and leadership areas, plus numerous short-term practitioner appointments.
Actions:
- Flexibly fill gaps in research, teaching, and engagement for current and emerging policy areas.
- Seize opportunities to reinforce areas of strength and comparative advantage in policy problem solving.
- Raise the resources to create 2-3 new endowment-funded professorships.
- Raise the resources for 3-5 multiple-length interdisciplinary faculty appointments.
Scale up the impact of UVA Batten knowledge and engagement contributions through investments in pioneering research and outreach.
Goal: Double the investment in research activities.
Actions:
- Increase investments in Batten’s active interdisciplinary research and engagement portfolios, including centers and laboratories.
- Support joint teaching and scholarship between faculty, bridging leadership/policy and scholarship/practice.
- Lead select university-wide initiatives that align with mission (e.g., on democracy), leveraging investments, scale, and scope.
Enhance awareness of the UVA Batten brand, leadership, and policy contributions.
Goal: Establish UVA Batten as a nationally recognized leader in leadership development and policy.
Actions:
- Increase investments in research visibility and communications, including branding, media relations, and media support.
Impact
Capitalize on opportunity for second building and strategically “grow a small school.”
Goal: A funded second building that elevates innovative educational offerings, supported by world-class technology and well-resourced staff.
Actions:
- Design and fund a purpose-built second facility, and leverage partnership with Karsh Institute affiliates and North Grounds.
- Invest in the resources, technology, infrastructure and staff to continue our core work at the highest level while increasing our capacity for innovation and new initiatives.
Launch “global classroom” initiative to continuously improve 21st century student experiences.
Goal: Every student will have the opportunity for international experience and public service internships.
Actions:
- Develop and fund programs to ensure an international experience opportunity for every student.
- Expand public service internship funding to support both MPP and BA students doing public service summer internships.
Incubate cutting-edge approaches to leadership and policy development that offer new learning opportunities and experiences.
Goal: Develop and test new opportunities, scaling the most promising approaches.
Actions:
- Develop and test new approaches to improve leadership and policy development, including:
- Contemplative practice
- Social entrepreneurship
- Artificial intelligence
- Conflict and dialogue
- Leverage UVA resources in Charlottesville and Northern Virginia