Student Stories

For the past four years, no one at UVA has embodied the student-athlete ideal more than Jocelyn Willoughby. An All-ACC performer in basketball, she needed only three years to earn a bachelor’s degree, after which she entered Batten's Master of Public Policy program. The ACC’s leading scorer this season, Willoughby became the first Cavalier selected in the WNBA draft since 2010.

Batten's Jocelyn Willoughby (MPP '21), who was named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, reflects on her UVA experience – both on and off the basketball court.

Through their organization, Black Student Leaders in Policy, James Banks (BA ’20) and Sela Carrington (BA ’21) are working to give black Batten students a sense of ownership.

The Batten School announced the selection of four Batten students as finalists in this year's highly competitive Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program. 

In recognition of National First-Generation College Celebration day, held annually on November 8, Batten spoke with First-Gen student, Jackie Chen (BA '21) about what drew her to the Batten School and how leadership plays an active role in navigating the complexities of the college experience. 

This week, Batten hosted the first Batten Hour of the year featuring brief remarks from Dean Ian H. Solomon followed by a roundtable conversation with the dean, students, and faculty, providing an opportunity for the Batten community to get to learn more about the new dean, both professionally and personally.

Today, the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy announced the 2019-20 student recipients of the Bocock and Hitz Public Service Fellowship. Established in 2012 by a generous gift from Mary Buford and Fred Hitz, the Bocock and Hitz Public Service Fellowship Fund supports outstanding students in Batten’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree programs who are committed to effecting positive change through careers in public service.

Batten student Hanna Davis (BA ’21) is taking the road to Morocco on a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

Six University of Virginia students were selected for this year’s Governor’s Fellows program, the largest contingent from a single school in the state. Of those six, three are Batten students or recent graduates.

2019 Batten graduates received year-end recognition with an impressive range of accolades honoring academic achievement and attributes including intellectual curiosity, athletic success, character, service, kindness, and leadership.

The ebullient young man who goes by Pobo is many things – a graduate student in UVA's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, one of the elite throwers in NCAA track & field, an accomplished chess player and teacher, among them – but on this night he was an amateur working with a pro.

Two years ago, the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy’s Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming put students through the paces of a global food security simulation. Last year, the center created a global pandemic simulation.