Latest News
-
Racial Justice and EquityBlack Americans are Systematically Under-Treated for Pain. Why?When it comes to the healthcare you receive, the color of your skin can make a significant difference, social psychologist Sophie Trawalter told an online audience last week.
-
The Batten School and Partners Announce 22nd Century Scholars ProgramNearly five dozen UVA and Harvard University students have been selected for the new 22nd Century Scholars scholarship program, which is launching this week as partnered with the UVA Center for Politics, the Miller Center, and the Weldon Cooper Center/Sorensen Institute.
-
Summer Savior: Students Flocking to Weldon Cooper Center’s Clean Energy InitiativeUpon realizing the vast number of students who were suddenly losing summer jobs and internships, the Cooper Center leapt into action. Batten Professor Bill Shobe and his team made the decision to take on as many interns for its Virginia Clean Energy Project as it could possibly handle.
-
Research and CommentaryProfessor Brian N. Williams Speaks on Police Brutality as ‘Finch Podcast’ GuestBatten Associate Professor of Public Policy Dr. Brian N. Williams, discusses police-community relations, the Black Lives Matter movement, and equal justice through understanding as a guest on The Finch Podcast.
-
Racial Justice and EquityCommitting to AdvocacyWe all want to change the world, but where do we start? Irma Palmer (BA '10, MPP ‘15) offers some tips and tricks.
-
Racial Justice and EquityWhere Do We Go From Here?“We’re at the intersection of past and present—and we're teetering a bit,” Batten professor Brian N. Williams told an online audience last week. “Evolution or revolution? Reform or riot? Progress or more protests? Should we defund and divest or deconstruct and reconstruct?”
-
Alum in ActionLeadership in a Rapidly-Changing World: Rachel Davidson Raycraft (’20) Confronts Corruption with Innovative TechnologyRecent graduate Rachel Davidson Raycraft (MPP/JD ’20) discusses her work as a 2019-20 World Economic Forum Research Assistant and participation in their ongoing project with the Inter-American Development Bank and Colombian Inspector General’s Office on blockchain-based procurement.
-
Research and CommentaryDean Solomon: Juneteenth ReflectionsEarlier this week Governor Northam of Virginia declared June 19 as a day to reflect on the meaning of Juneteenth. The University of Virginia and Batten School also honor this day.
-
Racial Justice and Equity‘It’s Never Been Uncomplicated for Me:’ a Black-Jewish Voice for Hope“It was a huge wake-up call for me,” Ian Solomon told me. “It’s too easy to put the blame on individuals and not recognize what’s below the surface. We put all the blame on a person’s failings, and they do have failings. But my brother did not fail to be a human being, right? It’s easy to dehumanize people for their errors, for their mistakes, for their addictions, for their pasts.”
-
Racial Justice and EquityThe Right to BreatheFor the latest edition of Batten’s Expert Chat Series, Dean Ian Solomon led the Batten community in a discussion of the University’s fight against racism and inequity.
-
Scheppach: COVID-19 Will Turn the State Pension Problem Into a Fiscal CrisisYou may be wondering why, over the last few months, the state pension problem – normally not a subject of widespread discussion – has been in the news. The problem – and it’s a big one – is that many of the public employee pension plans run by states don’t have enough money in them to make upcoming pension payments to retired state workers.
-
Research and CommentaryWhat Colleges and Universities Can Do to Improve Police-Community RelationsWhat can America’s higher education system do to reduce the use of excessive force among police? As a public policy scholar who examines the interplay between race, policing and public governance, I see multiple things that colleges and universities can do to make a difference.

