About News News Subscribe National Security Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy International and Global Affairs Leadership Ethics Racial Justice and Equity Facet Area of Focus - News Craig Volden Philip Potter Gerald Warburg Allan Stam George Foresman Jennifer Lawless Facet People - News UVA Humanitarian Collaborative EdPolicyWorks: Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness UVA Center for Politics Karsh Institute of Democracy Miller Center Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service School of Education and Human Development School of Law School of Nursing Social Innovation @ UVA Center for Social Innovation Darden School of Business Department of Economics School Engineering College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences McIntire School of Commerce School of Medicine (-) Center for Effective Lawmaking (-) National Security Policy Center Facet UVA Partner - News Research and Commentary Faculty In Action Accolades Featured Research Student Stories Facet News Type - News Mar 26, 2025 Legislative Effectiveness Scores for 118th Congress Highlight The Keys to Successful Lawmaking In its 5th biennial report on the effectiveness of U.S. senators and representatives, the Center for Effective Lawmaking found that despite deep political and procedural disruptions, the 118th Congress passed hundreds of laws. It also noted that the exit of some of the highest-scoring members may strain the lawmaking capacity of Congress in the years ahead. Learn more Dec 03, 2024 Phil Potter: A Humble Heavy Hitter in National Security Phil Potter's leadership, knowledge of the intelligence world and commitment to public service, including as founder of UVA Batten’s National Security Policy Center, has culminated in his appointment as the inaugural director of the newly launched National Security Data and Policy Institute, a project of UVA and the Department of Defense. Learn more Nov 06, 2024 Center for Effective Lawmaking: 2024 Annual Report The Center for Effective Lawmaking is marking an extremely successful year with the release of its annual report. Founded in 2017 as a joint venture between UVA Batten and Vanderbilt University, the center’s trusted methodology and analyses have been cited in hundreds of news articles across the U.S., and widely used by lawmakers and their staffs. Learn more Oct 04, 2024 Balancing Act: Domestic Intelligence at a Time of Growing Threats Finding balance was an overarching theme of Monday's Batten Hour speaker, Under Secretary for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security Kenneth Wainstein, who discussed election security and the role of his organization in bridging information gaps among all levels of U.S. government. Learn more Jun 10, 2024 How Effective are America’s State Legislators? Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science The Center for Effective Lawmaking has compiled a massive database to measure the effectiveness of nearly every state legislator in the U.S. Based on the center's trusted methodology developed a decade ago to rank the effectiveness of members of Congress, the project is the first to collect this kind of data at the state level in a comprehensive fashion. Learn more Jun 06, 2024 Batten Hosts Back-to-Back Political Science Conferences Domestic Policy & Politics The UVA Batten School is excited to co-host the national State Politics and Policy Conference this weekend, bringing together some 140 political science researchers from across the country to share their recent findings on a wide range of topics. Immediately following, Batten hosts the annual conference of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project with Vanderbilt University. Learn more Feb 11, 2024 Effective Lawmaking in Virginia: Past, Present and Future This week’s Batten Hour featured Bill Howell, former Speaker of the House of Delegates, and David Toscano, former House Minority Leader, in a discussion about how the legislature is addressing past, present and future policy challenges. Their discussion was moderated by Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Learn more Sep 28, 2023 Grounds to Listen: With Dean Solomon and Jim Gilmore Welcome to Grounds to Listen, our new podcast hosted by Batten School Dean Ian Solomon featuring insightful conversations with leaders and scholars delving into the art of leadership in an increasingly diverse and divided world. Our first guest is former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. Learn more Sep 27, 2023 Briefing Congress's "Problem Solvers" The co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- Craig Volden of the Batten School and Tom Wiseman of Vanderbilt University -- held a briefing in DC recently with staff members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus to share their insights into what it takes to become an effective lawmaker. Read the blog Sep 11, 2023 Former Virginia Governor: Duty of Citizenship is Key to Democracy National Security Jim Gilmore was the featured speaker at Batten Hour on September 11, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. when he was Virginia's governor, and reflected on America’s readiness for potential future attacks, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing threat of authoritarianism globally. Learn more Jul 25, 2023 Improving Expertise of Congressional Staff Domestic Policy & Politics In an op-ed published in The Messenger, Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman of the Center for Effective Lawmaking write that without proper career training for congressional staffers, expertise gaps on Capitol Hill will continue to be problematic. Learn more 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 Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Next page Next › Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Mar 26, 2025 Legislative Effectiveness Scores for 118th Congress Highlight The Keys to Successful Lawmaking In its 5th biennial report on the effectiveness of U.S. senators and representatives, the Center for Effective Lawmaking found that despite deep political and procedural disruptions, the 118th Congress passed hundreds of laws. It also noted that the exit of some of the highest-scoring members may strain the lawmaking capacity of Congress in the years ahead. Learn more
Dec 03, 2024 Phil Potter: A Humble Heavy Hitter in National Security Phil Potter's leadership, knowledge of the intelligence world and commitment to public service, including as founder of UVA Batten’s National Security Policy Center, has culminated in his appointment as the inaugural director of the newly launched National Security Data and Policy Institute, a project of UVA and the Department of Defense. Learn more
Nov 06, 2024 Center for Effective Lawmaking: 2024 Annual Report The Center for Effective Lawmaking is marking an extremely successful year with the release of its annual report. Founded in 2017 as a joint venture between UVA Batten and Vanderbilt University, the center’s trusted methodology and analyses have been cited in hundreds of news articles across the U.S., and widely used by lawmakers and their staffs. Learn more
Oct 04, 2024 Balancing Act: Domestic Intelligence at a Time of Growing Threats Finding balance was an overarching theme of Monday's Batten Hour speaker, Under Secretary for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security Kenneth Wainstein, who discussed election security and the role of his organization in bridging information gaps among all levels of U.S. government. Learn more
Jun 10, 2024 How Effective are America’s State Legislators? Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science The Center for Effective Lawmaking has compiled a massive database to measure the effectiveness of nearly every state legislator in the U.S. Based on the center's trusted methodology developed a decade ago to rank the effectiveness of members of Congress, the project is the first to collect this kind of data at the state level in a comprehensive fashion. Learn more
Jun 06, 2024 Batten Hosts Back-to-Back Political Science Conferences Domestic Policy & Politics The UVA Batten School is excited to co-host the national State Politics and Policy Conference this weekend, bringing together some 140 political science researchers from across the country to share their recent findings on a wide range of topics. Immediately following, Batten hosts the annual conference of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project with Vanderbilt University. Learn more
Feb 11, 2024 Effective Lawmaking in Virginia: Past, Present and Future This week’s Batten Hour featured Bill Howell, former Speaker of the House of Delegates, and David Toscano, former House Minority Leader, in a discussion about how the legislature is addressing past, present and future policy challenges. Their discussion was moderated by Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Learn more
Sep 28, 2023 Grounds to Listen: With Dean Solomon and Jim Gilmore Welcome to Grounds to Listen, our new podcast hosted by Batten School Dean Ian Solomon featuring insightful conversations with leaders and scholars delving into the art of leadership in an increasingly diverse and divided world. Our first guest is former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. Learn more
Sep 27, 2023 Briefing Congress's "Problem Solvers" The co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- Craig Volden of the Batten School and Tom Wiseman of Vanderbilt University -- held a briefing in DC recently with staff members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus to share their insights into what it takes to become an effective lawmaker. Read the blog
Sep 11, 2023 Former Virginia Governor: Duty of Citizenship is Key to Democracy National Security Jim Gilmore was the featured speaker at Batten Hour on September 11, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. when he was Virginia's governor, and reflected on America’s readiness for potential future attacks, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing threat of authoritarianism globally. Learn more
Jul 25, 2023 Improving Expertise of Congressional Staff Domestic Policy & Politics In an op-ed published in The Messenger, Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman of the Center for Effective Lawmaking write that without proper career training for congressional staffers, expertise gaps on Capitol Hill will continue to be problematic. Learn more
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