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Boler Derek Wu Frederick P. Hitz Galen Fountain Gerald Higginbotham Isaac Mbiti Michele Claibourn Sally Hudson Tim Layton Xiao Wang Adam Roux Amanda Crombie Andy Ortiz Ashley Jardina Brooke Ray Charles J. Rush Charles J. Rush Diane Biesecker George Foresman Jieun Pai Justin H. Kirkland Kimberly Jenkins Robinson Melissa Thomas-Hunt Pam Cipriano Paul Becker Tim Layton (-) Christopher J. Ruhm (-) Noah Myung Facet People - News Facet UVA Partner - News Research and Commentary Faculty In Action Facet News Type - News Apr 28, 2025 UVA Batten a Hub for Health Economics Research The health economy is one of the most extensive and complex systems in modern life, impacting people on a deeply personal level. UVA Batten is honored to have three outstanding faculty members whose research expertise is focused on various policy aspects of the field, including Medicaid and Medicare, COVID-related mortality rates, and other topics. Learn more Jul 30, 2024 How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID In a paper published in JAMA Health Forum, Professor of Public Policy and Economics Chris Ruhm finds that stringent COVID-19 restrictions saved lives during the pandemic based on a state-by-state analysis of health policies and COVID deaths. Learn more Dec 13, 2023 Ruhm Named SEA Distinguished Fellow Chris Ruhm, Batten professor of public policy and economics, has received a Distinguished Fellow Award from the Southern Economic Association in recognition for his “substantial record of exceptional scholarly achievement and long-term involvement and service to the association.” Learn more Jun 23, 2022 We May Not Have Been as Anxious, Depressed in Pandemic's First Year as Once Thought Health Policy Findings from the Batten School's Christopher Ruhm and colleagues at Harvard question the accuracy of the CDC’s Household Pulse survey on mental health. Learn more May 17, 2021 How to target opioid funding to states that need it most Health Policy Economics According to new research from Batten’s Christopher J. Ruhm, the federal government’s opioid grant funding structure favors the least populous states, which are not always the states with greatest need. In an op-ed for The Hill, Ruhm suggests several ways to improve the targeting of federal grants that aim to assist states with opioid problems. Read in The Hill May 03, 2021 Federal Opioid Grant Funding Favors Least Populous States, Not Those With the Greatest Need Economics Health Policy In a new paper published in the journal Health Affairs, Batten’s Christopher J. Ruhm and co-author Bradley A. Katcher find that the federal government’s opioid grant funding structure favors the least populous states, which are not always the states with greatest need. Learn more Apr 09, 2020 How Might the COVID-19 Recession Affect Your Health? An Economist Explains. Economics Health Policy Recessions may be good for overall physical health, but this one could be different. Batten professor Chris Ruhm presented an online talk Wednesday offering an economist’s view of the overall health effects of the COVID-19 recession. His talk was the school’s third installment of its expert chat series about COVID-19. Learn more Apr 07, 2020 The Batten School and NASPAA Announce Global Winners of the 2020 Student Simulation Competition International and Global Affairs Today, the Batten School and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) announced the winners of the 2020 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition—the largest student simulation competition in higher education. There were 64 teams competing at seven sites around the globe, devising and implementing public transport policies in order to create improved sustainability strategies for their virtual cities. Learn more Mar 25, 2020 Q&A: Batten Professor’s 2018 Global Pandemic Simulation Becomes All Too Real Health Policy Two years ago, Noah Myung and his team designed a global pandemic simulation competition for students at 15 universities that is eerily similar to what is happening now. READ IN UVA TODAY Feb 13, 2020 Simulation Learning Takes Students Out of the Classroom and Into the Middle of Public Crises Health Policy International and Global Affairs Every year, hundreds of master’s candidates from member institutions of NASPAA — the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration — participate in the NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition, co-hosted by Batten's Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming, to see who can devise the best solutions to international crises. READ IN INSIGHT INTO DIVERSITY Nov 21, 2019 New Research: Non-Opioid Drug Death Rates Are Also on the Rise Economics The number of Americans dying from drug overdoses has risen rapidly in the last decade, with opioids viewed as the primary culprit. However, recent research suggests that opioids are not the only drug involved. According to Batten professor of economics, Christopher J. Ruhm, half of the overdose deaths have involved polydrug use and deaths involving nonopioid drugs are rising almost as fast as those involving opioids. READ IN UVA TODAY Jan 24, 2019 585 Students Around the World Compete in Host Nations: A Refugee Simulation Advocacy Economics Domestic Policy & Politics Leadership On February 23, the third annual NASPPA-Batten Student Simulation Competition will take place, bringing together a record 585 graduate students from around the globe to tackle policy issues associated with forced migration through computer-based simulated gameplay. 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Apr 28, 2025 UVA Batten a Hub for Health Economics Research The health economy is one of the most extensive and complex systems in modern life, impacting people on a deeply personal level. UVA Batten is honored to have three outstanding faculty members whose research expertise is focused on various policy aspects of the field, including Medicaid and Medicare, COVID-related mortality rates, and other topics. Learn more
Jul 30, 2024 How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID In a paper published in JAMA Health Forum, Professor of Public Policy and Economics Chris Ruhm finds that stringent COVID-19 restrictions saved lives during the pandemic based on a state-by-state analysis of health policies and COVID deaths. Learn more
Dec 13, 2023 Ruhm Named SEA Distinguished Fellow Chris Ruhm, Batten professor of public policy and economics, has received a Distinguished Fellow Award from the Southern Economic Association in recognition for his “substantial record of exceptional scholarly achievement and long-term involvement and service to the association.” Learn more
Jun 23, 2022 We May Not Have Been as Anxious, Depressed in Pandemic's First Year as Once Thought Health Policy Findings from the Batten School's Christopher Ruhm and colleagues at Harvard question the accuracy of the CDC’s Household Pulse survey on mental health. Learn more
May 17, 2021 How to target opioid funding to states that need it most Health Policy Economics According to new research from Batten’s Christopher J. Ruhm, the federal government’s opioid grant funding structure favors the least populous states, which are not always the states with greatest need. In an op-ed for The Hill, Ruhm suggests several ways to improve the targeting of federal grants that aim to assist states with opioid problems. Read in The Hill
May 03, 2021 Federal Opioid Grant Funding Favors Least Populous States, Not Those With the Greatest Need Economics Health Policy In a new paper published in the journal Health Affairs, Batten’s Christopher J. Ruhm and co-author Bradley A. Katcher find that the federal government’s opioid grant funding structure favors the least populous states, which are not always the states with greatest need. Learn more
Apr 09, 2020 How Might the COVID-19 Recession Affect Your Health? An Economist Explains. Economics Health Policy Recessions may be good for overall physical health, but this one could be different. Batten professor Chris Ruhm presented an online talk Wednesday offering an economist’s view of the overall health effects of the COVID-19 recession. His talk was the school’s third installment of its expert chat series about COVID-19. Learn more
Apr 07, 2020 The Batten School and NASPAA Announce Global Winners of the 2020 Student Simulation Competition International and Global Affairs Today, the Batten School and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) announced the winners of the 2020 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition—the largest student simulation competition in higher education. There were 64 teams competing at seven sites around the globe, devising and implementing public transport policies in order to create improved sustainability strategies for their virtual cities. Learn more
Mar 25, 2020 Q&A: Batten Professor’s 2018 Global Pandemic Simulation Becomes All Too Real Health Policy Two years ago, Noah Myung and his team designed a global pandemic simulation competition for students at 15 universities that is eerily similar to what is happening now. READ IN UVA TODAY
Feb 13, 2020 Simulation Learning Takes Students Out of the Classroom and Into the Middle of Public Crises Health Policy International and Global Affairs Every year, hundreds of master’s candidates from member institutions of NASPAA — the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration — participate in the NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition, co-hosted by Batten's Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming, to see who can devise the best solutions to international crises. READ IN INSIGHT INTO DIVERSITY
Nov 21, 2019 New Research: Non-Opioid Drug Death Rates Are Also on the Rise Economics The number of Americans dying from drug overdoses has risen rapidly in the last decade, with opioids viewed as the primary culprit. However, recent research suggests that opioids are not the only drug involved. According to Batten professor of economics, Christopher J. Ruhm, half of the overdose deaths have involved polydrug use and deaths involving nonopioid drugs are rising almost as fast as those involving opioids. READ IN UVA TODAY
Jan 24, 2019 585 Students Around the World Compete in Host Nations: A Refugee Simulation Advocacy Economics Domestic Policy & Politics Leadership On February 23, the third annual NASPPA-Batten Student Simulation Competition will take place, bringing together a record 585 graduate students from around the globe to tackle policy issues associated with forced migration through computer-based simulated gameplay. Learn more