About News News Subscribe Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics Ethics Racial Justice and Equity (-) Leadership (-) Democracy Facet Area of Focus - News David Leblang Gabrielle Adams Gerald Warburg (-) Craig Volden Facet People - News Miller Center (-) Center for Effective Lawmaking Facet UVA Partner - News Research and Commentary Faculty In Action Featured Research Facet News Type - News May 31, 2023 Bipartisanship the “secret sauce” for effective lawmaking, despite rising polarization in Congress Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy Despite perceptions that Congress is dominated by partisan interests, a new study from the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- co-directed by Batten professor Craig Volden -- finds that legislators who draw in cosponsors from both sides of the aisle are more effective. Learn more Oct 27, 2022 The Center for Effective Lawmaking Meets with Delegation from the Ukrainian Parliament Democracy Batten School Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, Craig Volden, met with a delegation from the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, in early September to discuss lawmaking effectiveness. Learn more Mar 25, 2021 Volden: Committee Chairs Continue Their Lawmaking Decline Political Science Leadership Committee chairs have long been considered power brokers for lawmaking, but according to research from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, their lawmaking effectiveness is diminishing. In an op-ed for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and Vanderbilt University's Alan E. Wiseman write about the trend. Read in The Hill Mar 17, 2021 The “Do-Something” Members of the 116th Congress: Legislative Effectiveness Study from the Batten School and Vanderbilt University Identifies Member Success in Advancing Bills Political Science Leadership Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., along with Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and retired Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., were the most effective Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the recently completed 116th Congress (2019–20), according to new research from Batten's Center for Effective Lawmaking. Learn more Jan 12, 2021 How Women Leaders Can Enhance Rulemaking In The Biden Administration Leadership Ethics How can the Biden-Harris team increase its odds for regulatory success? According to research from Batten’s Craig Volden and co-author Rachel Augustine Potter, the new administration can accomplish policy change by hiring women leaders and establishing supportive work environments. Read In Brookings Dec 07, 2020 Focus on Cabinet Nominees' Effectiveness and Expertise, Not Just Ideology Political Science Leadership As President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees have been named, much of the discussion has been about their ideological leanings. In an article for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and Vanderbilt University's Alan E. Wiseman, co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, outline why these ideological discussions are too narrow a focus. Read In The Hill Sep 18, 2020 Members of Congress are Specializing Less Often. Volden and Wiseman Say That Makes Them Less Effective. Democracy Political Science Batten’s Craig Volden and Vanderbilt’s Alan Wiseman, co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, find that members of Congress are becoming less specialized and in turn, less effective. How do we encourage more expertise and reverse the trend? Read in The Washington Post Mar 06, 2020 Productive Politicians Fare Better in Primaries Political Science Leadership Now that Super Tuesday is behind us, voters can look forward to another primary in the spring – this time for Congressional candidates. As a professor of public policy and politics at the Batten School and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, Craig Volden has studied what factors make for a successful candidate and drawn some conclusions about this state’s congressional delegation. Listen on WVTF Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
May 31, 2023 Bipartisanship the “secret sauce” for effective lawmaking, despite rising polarization in Congress Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy Despite perceptions that Congress is dominated by partisan interests, a new study from the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- co-directed by Batten professor Craig Volden -- finds that legislators who draw in cosponsors from both sides of the aisle are more effective. Learn more
Oct 27, 2022 The Center for Effective Lawmaking Meets with Delegation from the Ukrainian Parliament Democracy Batten School Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, Craig Volden, met with a delegation from the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, in early September to discuss lawmaking effectiveness. Learn more
Mar 25, 2021 Volden: Committee Chairs Continue Their Lawmaking Decline Political Science Leadership Committee chairs have long been considered power brokers for lawmaking, but according to research from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, their lawmaking effectiveness is diminishing. In an op-ed for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and Vanderbilt University's Alan E. Wiseman write about the trend. Read in The Hill
Mar 17, 2021 The “Do-Something” Members of the 116th Congress: Legislative Effectiveness Study from the Batten School and Vanderbilt University Identifies Member Success in Advancing Bills Political Science Leadership Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., along with Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and retired Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., were the most effective Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the recently completed 116th Congress (2019–20), according to new research from Batten's Center for Effective Lawmaking. Learn more
Jan 12, 2021 How Women Leaders Can Enhance Rulemaking In The Biden Administration Leadership Ethics How can the Biden-Harris team increase its odds for regulatory success? According to research from Batten’s Craig Volden and co-author Rachel Augustine Potter, the new administration can accomplish policy change by hiring women leaders and establishing supportive work environments. Read In Brookings
Dec 07, 2020 Focus on Cabinet Nominees' Effectiveness and Expertise, Not Just Ideology Political Science Leadership As President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees have been named, much of the discussion has been about their ideological leanings. In an article for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and Vanderbilt University's Alan E. Wiseman, co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, outline why these ideological discussions are too narrow a focus. Read In The Hill
Sep 18, 2020 Members of Congress are Specializing Less Often. Volden and Wiseman Say That Makes Them Less Effective. Democracy Political Science Batten’s Craig Volden and Vanderbilt’s Alan Wiseman, co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, find that members of Congress are becoming less specialized and in turn, less effective. How do we encourage more expertise and reverse the trend? Read in The Washington Post
Mar 06, 2020 Productive Politicians Fare Better in Primaries Political Science Leadership Now that Super Tuesday is behind us, voters can look forward to another primary in the spring – this time for Congressional candidates. As a professor of public policy and politics at the Batten School and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, Craig Volden has studied what factors make for a successful candidate and drawn some conclusions about this state’s congressional delegation. Listen on WVTF