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Today, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is proud to announce that ten Batten students were elected to Phi Beta Kappa Society. Founded in 1776 amidst the American Revolution by five William and Mary students, Phi Beta Kappa remains America’s most prestigious honors society, and one whose founders believed education and academic excellence were integral to freedom of thought.

More than once while Sarah Alexander was growing up, her ballet teachers thought she should limit school and focus on a professional dance career. But the young dancer, who began taking lessons at the age of 3, was determined to figure out how to pursue both school and dance.

This week, the University honored its top teachers. Batten's Kirsten Gelsdorf was among those honored with the All-University Teaching Award

The Batten School announced a new partnership with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) to provide emerging Latinx leaders with access to a new model of public policy education explicitly committed to teaching leadership and generating new knowledge to solve the world’s most difficult public policy challenges.

UVA’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost created a new awards program to commend faculty for the contributions their public service makes to student learning, the advancement of scholarship and creative activity, and the University’s own public mission.

The University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy today announced a new graduate-level course that will be taught by American author and historian Craig Shirley in the fall. The course, titled “Lessons in Leadership: Reagan,” will be the first-ever Batten School course to examine the historical and political context of Ronald Reagan’s presidency and how it translates to today’s political landscape.

When Kiara Rogers stepped foot on the University of Virginia’s Grounds four years ago, she knew she wanted to pursue a pre-law track so that someday she could give a greater voice to other women and to the causes that she believed in.

The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is proud to announce the launch of the Batten Benefactors Society, an annual leadership giving program designed to recognize the School’s most generous donors and inspire others to contribute.

As rainy, gray clouds loomed over Monticello, Sylvia Earle – an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer named a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, and this year’s recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership – gave her keynote address.

“I am fortunate that I am able to study and teach topics that I find the most interesting,” said Batten Professor David Leblang. Leblang joined the University of Virginia in the Department of Politics and the Miller Center in 2008. In 2009 he became affiliated with the Batten School, where he teaches a course on international economic policy.

As the director of social entrepreneurship at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, professor Christine Mahoney had spent a good deal of her time devising innovative approaches for solving social challenges around the world. However, it gnawed at Mahoney that she hadn’t been able to do as much as she would have liked right here in Charlottesville.

Lisa Hall is acutely aware of how capital can be used for the betterment of society. Former CEO of the Calvert Impact Capital, Hall has worked in a variety of sectors and developed a unique vantage on inciting social change and economic equality.