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Climate despair is emerging as a psychosocial threat. Ben Converse, associate professor of public policy and psychology at the Batten School, and other UVA researchers have found a potential source of hope that is underutilized.

Tim Heaphy's (Col '86, Law '91) career as a federal prosecutor led him to lead the investigations of two of America's watershed moments of the 21st century: the violent political rallies in Charlottesville and at the U.S. Capitol. He shared his story with Batten students on Monday.

The University of Virginia has appointed Ian H. Solomon to a second term as dean of the Batten School, noting his many accomplishments during his first term, including growing and diversifying student enrollment, expanding Batten’s academic offerings, recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, and strengthening the school’s overall foundation to ensure a successful future.

Dozens of Batten students benefit every year from funding provided by our generous donors to support their summer internships. Here are three of their stories.

As per Batten School tradition, students and staff members joined with community volunteers and nonprofit organizations this year for a day of service on the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Three professors at the UVA Batten School were named as among the top 200 most influential education scholars in the U.S. in an annual ranking by the American Enterprise Institute: Sarah Turner, Daphna Bassok and Jim Wyckoff.

Xiao Wang (MPP '09), professor at UVA's School of Law and an affiliated Batten faculty member, has won the 2024 Harold Berman Award for Excellence in Scholarship from the Association of American Law Schools for his paper on a recent trend in religious freedom litigation.

Chris Ruhm, Batten professor of public policy and economics, has received a Distinguished Fellow Award from the Southern Economic Association in recognition for his “substantial record of exceptional scholarly achievement and long-term involvement and service to the association.”

Almost 200 young people from across Central Virginia attended a daylong workshop on conflict resolution and violence reduction held by UVA Batten's PEGLLLLAB using an innovative model for sharing stories and dialogue.

Former Washington state leigslator Kevin Parker joins Dean Ian Solomon to talk about how his experience as a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting has shaped his journey as a leader.

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.

Thanks to a gift from David and Joy Peyton to UVA's Cooper Center, two Batten School students are contributing vital research to help Virginia transition to cleaner energy.