Beloved Batten Graduate Professors, Part 1

At the Batten School, you’ll fall in love with the open-door policy of meeting with faculty and staff. Our faculty are best in class scholars and real-world practitioners, and you will learn the perfect blend of hard and soft skills alongside courses dedicated to teaching you the true depth of policy systems and issues. Below, you’ll hear from some of our MPP students on who has been their favorite professor during their time at the school.

“Professor Pennock (but I’m biased!) — He can take on different teaching styles depending on the class. While the format of LPA is sometimes difficult for folks, he has been one of my biggest supporters and constructive critics in other formats (especially during APP). He acknowledges the stressors of life, makes it a point to get to know you on a personal level, and takes pride in helping students grow into their individual professional tracks. Even more so, he has been one of my most flexible and thoughtful professors throughout the pandemic.”

• Morgan, second-year MPP student

“Professor Carson! He always makes himself available to his students and always provides meaningful advice. Most importantly, Prof. Carson knows how to ground a panicky graduate student when it comes to deadlines and deliverables. His feedback is timely, effective, and highly regarded.”

• Alyssa, first-year Accelerated MPP student

“It is a tie! Professor Mbiti is so understanding with all students and patient with everyone trying to understand econ for the first time. Adam Felder teaches an elective, but even if you don’t take his class, he is always there to help. I had a question about a totally unrelated work project with excel, and he took the time to record himself doing a tutorial and sent it to me. He truly goes above and beyond!”

• Allie, second-year MPP student

“There are SO many great professors in Batten, but if I had to choose one, it’d have to be Dan Player. He is extraordinary at making students feel comfortable in the classroom, while making everyone laugh and learn throughout. Intro to Policy Analysis is a great course, but most of the time I’m just excited to interact with Dr. Player.”

• Maya, first-year Accelerated MPP student

“My favorite Batten professor is actually a tie between Professor Carson and Professor Mbiti.  Professor Carson works to allow his students to pursue their intellectual curiosity–allowing me to take one of his master’s classes before I even entered the MPP program. And Professor Mbiti showed a great care for his students–especially during an online semester. He was willing to work with students on any challenges we had and, for me personally, when I was stuck in quarantine, he was nice enough to send me dinner one night.”

• Dan, first-year Accelerated MPP student

“There are so many great professors at Batten! Eileen Chou sticks out because of her flawless execution, engaging discussions, and strategic planning; Andy Pennock is one of the most interested and caring educators I’ve known, and that’s saying something (as a former teacher myself); Adam Felder will go out of his way to help students even outside of class time with work unrelated to his curriculum. I could go on!”

• Emily, second-year MPP student

“Professor Player. He’s a great professor who makes each class fun with his great sense of humor!”

• Niki, second-year Accelerated MPP student