About News News Subscribe Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy Leadership Environmental Policy Ethics Racial Justice and Equity Crime and Justice Facet Area of Focus - News Craig Volden Gerald Warburg William Shobe Larry Terry Jennifer Lawless Facet People - News UVA Humanitarian Collaborative National Security Policy Center EdPolicyWorks: Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness UVA Center for Politics Karsh Institute of Democracy Miller Center 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 (-) Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service Facet UVA Partner - News Research and Commentary Faculty In Action Accolades Featured Research Racial Justice and Equity Facet News Type - News Jan 21, 2023 George Santos' college education is a myth. Is he the only one lying? We checked. How often are the educational backgrounds of Congressional legislators and candidates vetted, and how much do degrees matter? Craig Volden, Batten School professor and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, talked with USA Today about Congress members’ educational backgrounds and how a degree correlates to effectiveness as a legislator. Learn more Jan 10, 2023 Investigations, Distrust, and Stigma: Why George Santos May Not Get Much Done in Congress Facing investigations after lying about whether he graduated college, worked on Wall Street, founded a charity, owned rental property, and descended from Holocaust survivors, Republican Rep. George Santos of New York may find it more difficult than the typical freshman lawmaker to deliver results. Learn more Dec 05, 2022 Batten Faculty Member Tapped to Lead Outreach at Penn State Larry D. Terry II, executive director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and faculty member at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, has been selected as the vice president for outreach at Penn State University. 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 Aug 29, 2022 Workhorses, not show horses: Five ways to promote effective lawmaking in Congress Democracy Craig Volden, professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, writes in The Conversation that there are ways to get things done under the U.S. Capitol dome. Learn more Aug 04, 2022 Research: Congressional town halls signal and support effective lawmaking Domestic Policy & Politics In an article for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Alan E. Wiseman write that Representatives and Senators who engage constituents through town halls can enhance their lawmaking effectiveness in Congress. Learn more Jul 08, 2022 Volden Wins Honor for Paper That Highlights How Women Policymakers Thrive Political Science Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Rachel Augustine Potter were recognized for their research exploring the effectiveness of female agency leaders. They discuss the "glass walls" effect and the potential implications of their findings. Learn more May 24, 2022 To Run or Not to Run? Not Enough Women Consider Political Office in the First Place. Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science Racial Justice and Equity A new report by Batten School Professor Jennifer Lawless highlights the gender gap in political ambition. The research declares that “politics remains a game for men.” Learn more Oct 15, 2021 Why Do Bad Policies So Often Spread But Good Ones Don’t? Domestic Policy & Politics In their new book "Why bad policies spread (and good one’s don’t)," Batten's Craig Volden and Charles R. Shipan draw from a wide range of policy domains to examine whether states learn from another to improve the spread of good or effective policies, which policies spread for which reasons and which conditions lead to good or bad policies to spread, among other core questions. Read in Forbes Jun 17, 2021 Faculty Spotlight: Improving the Way We Make Laws, with Science Political Science Batten Professor Craig Volden no longer designs spacecraft—instead, he’s engineering a metric to combat political gridlock. Learn more Jun 07, 2021 Volden: Experienced Staff Promote Effective Lawmaking Political Science According to research from Batten's Center for Effective Lawmaking, retaining experienced legislative staff is crucial to Congress doing its job better. In an op-ed for The Hill, center co-directors Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman say that when it comes to congressional staff, we get what we pay for. Read in The Hill 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 Pagination Previous page ‹ Previous Page 1 Current page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Next page Next › Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Jan 21, 2023 George Santos' college education is a myth. Is he the only one lying? We checked. How often are the educational backgrounds of Congressional legislators and candidates vetted, and how much do degrees matter? Craig Volden, Batten School professor and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, talked with USA Today about Congress members’ educational backgrounds and how a degree correlates to effectiveness as a legislator. Learn more
Jan 10, 2023 Investigations, Distrust, and Stigma: Why George Santos May Not Get Much Done in Congress Facing investigations after lying about whether he graduated college, worked on Wall Street, founded a charity, owned rental property, and descended from Holocaust survivors, Republican Rep. George Santos of New York may find it more difficult than the typical freshman lawmaker to deliver results. Learn more
Dec 05, 2022 Batten Faculty Member Tapped to Lead Outreach at Penn State Larry D. Terry II, executive director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and faculty member at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, has been selected as the vice president for outreach at Penn State University. 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
Aug 29, 2022 Workhorses, not show horses: Five ways to promote effective lawmaking in Congress Democracy Craig Volden, professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, writes in The Conversation that there are ways to get things done under the U.S. Capitol dome. Learn more
Aug 04, 2022 Research: Congressional town halls signal and support effective lawmaking Domestic Policy & Politics In an article for The Hill, Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Alan E. Wiseman write that Representatives and Senators who engage constituents through town halls can enhance their lawmaking effectiveness in Congress. Learn more
Jul 08, 2022 Volden Wins Honor for Paper That Highlights How Women Policymakers Thrive Political Science Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Rachel Augustine Potter were recognized for their research exploring the effectiveness of female agency leaders. They discuss the "glass walls" effect and the potential implications of their findings. Learn more
May 24, 2022 To Run or Not to Run? Not Enough Women Consider Political Office in the First Place. Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science Racial Justice and Equity A new report by Batten School Professor Jennifer Lawless highlights the gender gap in political ambition. The research declares that “politics remains a game for men.” Learn more
Oct 15, 2021 Why Do Bad Policies So Often Spread But Good Ones Don’t? Domestic Policy & Politics In their new book "Why bad policies spread (and good one’s don’t)," Batten's Craig Volden and Charles R. Shipan draw from a wide range of policy domains to examine whether states learn from another to improve the spread of good or effective policies, which policies spread for which reasons and which conditions lead to good or bad policies to spread, among other core questions. Read in Forbes
Jun 17, 2021 Faculty Spotlight: Improving the Way We Make Laws, with Science Political Science Batten Professor Craig Volden no longer designs spacecraft—instead, he’s engineering a metric to combat political gridlock. Learn more
Jun 07, 2021 Volden: Experienced Staff Promote Effective Lawmaking Political Science According to research from Batten's Center for Effective Lawmaking, retaining experienced legislative staff is crucial to Congress doing its job better. In an op-ed for The Hill, center co-directors Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman say that when it comes to congressional staff, we get what we pay for. Read in The Hill
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