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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 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 Sep 17, 2024 American Democracy: Right From Wrong, Not Right From Left More than 125 people attended a special Batten Hour this week in celebration of Constitution Day. UVA Batten Dean Ian H. Solomon hosted a conversation with retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig and John Hardin Young of the American Bar Association. 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 Apr 25, 2024 Climate Change: Doing Nothing is Not an Option As one of the foremost environmental attorneys in Virginia, Elizabeth Andrews has a front-row seat for the conundrums of climate change policy. On Earth Day, Andrews was our guest speaker for this year’s final Batten Hour, co-hosted by UVA’s Environmental Institute and the Institute for Engagement and Negotiation. 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 Nov 30, 2023 Course Encourages Students To Incorporate Service Into Life After Grounds Dean Solomon told students in a Democracy and Public Service course to be open to all methods of influencing their communities. “There is never just one bucket to draw from. For me, it’s important that action is aligned with my values.” He joined Melody Barnes of the UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy in teaching the course, a core requirement for UVA’s Public Service Pathways program. Learn more Oct 27, 2023 Batten Speakers Take Center Stage at Democracy 360 Panels on Climate and Lawmaking In part 2 of our coverage of Batten School events that were part of the Democracy 360 Summit on Grounds this month, faculty experts engaged in panel discussions on Congress, economics and climate policy. Learn more Oct 27, 2023 Lessons in Disagreeing Better from a Two-Time World Debate Champion In part 1 of our coverage of Batten School events that were part of the Democracy 360 Summit on Grounds this month, two-time world champion debater Bo Seo discussed the topic of his latest book, "How to Disagree Better." Learn more Oct 26, 2023 Grounds to Listen: With Dean Solomon and Bo Seo In Episode 2 of "Grounds to Listen," Dean Solomon engages two-time world debating champion Bo Seo on how to have good arguments. Learn more Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 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
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
Sep 17, 2024 American Democracy: Right From Wrong, Not Right From Left More than 125 people attended a special Batten Hour this week in celebration of Constitution Day. UVA Batten Dean Ian H. Solomon hosted a conversation with retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig and John Hardin Young of the American Bar Association. 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
Apr 25, 2024 Climate Change: Doing Nothing is Not an Option As one of the foremost environmental attorneys in Virginia, Elizabeth Andrews has a front-row seat for the conundrums of climate change policy. On Earth Day, Andrews was our guest speaker for this year’s final Batten Hour, co-hosted by UVA’s Environmental Institute and the Institute for Engagement and Negotiation. 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
Nov 30, 2023 Course Encourages Students To Incorporate Service Into Life After Grounds Dean Solomon told students in a Democracy and Public Service course to be open to all methods of influencing their communities. “There is never just one bucket to draw from. For me, it’s important that action is aligned with my values.” He joined Melody Barnes of the UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy in teaching the course, a core requirement for UVA’s Public Service Pathways program. Learn more
Oct 27, 2023 Batten Speakers Take Center Stage at Democracy 360 Panels on Climate and Lawmaking In part 2 of our coverage of Batten School events that were part of the Democracy 360 Summit on Grounds this month, faculty experts engaged in panel discussions on Congress, economics and climate policy. Learn more
Oct 27, 2023 Lessons in Disagreeing Better from a Two-Time World Debate Champion In part 1 of our coverage of Batten School events that were part of the Democracy 360 Summit on Grounds this month, two-time world champion debater Bo Seo discussed the topic of his latest book, "How to Disagree Better." Learn more
Oct 26, 2023 Grounds to Listen: With Dean Solomon and Bo Seo In Episode 2 of "Grounds to Listen," Dean Solomon engages two-time world debating champion Bo Seo on how to have good arguments. Learn more