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For Batten student Ben Stolz (MPP ’20), leadership can mean different things to different people, but the one unifying aspect is that leadership requires a certain level of passion.

On the last day of fall classes, while other students prepared for the onslaught of exams, seven student teams from the Batten School traveled to the Pentagon to present their semester-long projects to officials from the Department of Defense (DoD).

Batten Professor Bala Mulloth thrives in different cultures. “I was born and raised in Mumbai, studied in New York City, then worked in Budapest, Hungary, and for the past four years, I have lived in Charlottesville,” said the professor of Social Entrepreneurship.

“We hope that our elected leaders are better than we are,” said Jeff Bergner during Monday’s Batten Hour. “We elect these people because we think they are smarter, better educated, have more money and more connections and are perhaps more virtuous than us. But has this ever been true?”

When it comes to discussing issues of policymaking—especially what constitutes good policymaking—Batten students are rarely shy. For the co-founders of Batten’s newest student organization Courageous Conversations in Policy (CCP) Chloe Cohen (MPP’20) and Brandon Velez (BA’19), courage is a necessity when addressing today’s most controversial topics.

This week, the Batten School hosted two events as part of UVA’s Community MLK Celebration series to commemorate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Andy Pennock is not your typical breed of professor. The father of four young boys (two sets of fraternal twin boys, aged three and five), teaches five courses per year and yet somehow finds the time and energy to publish a leading textbook on writing for public policy and an op-ed on education policy.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – On Thursday, Jan. 24, the Batten School and UVA’s Center for Politics brought together a diverse group of political figures for the 20th annual American Democracy Conference as part of the ongoing National Symposium Series on Democracy.

When it comes to public policy, Batten student Jack DiMatteo (MPP ’19) is drawn to health care, which he views is an area of policy that one can impact directly. It’s this passion (and also optimism) that led him to apply for, and receive, the prestigious David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship, a 12-month postgraduate program in Washington, DC.

On February 23, the third annual NASPPA-Batten Student Simulation Competition will take place, bringing together a record 585 graduate students from around the globe to tackle policy issues associated with forced migration through computer-based simulated gameplay.

For Batten student Brian Zuluaga, community is everything. But if you can’t find it—then you must build it. And that’s exactly what Zuluaga, a Batten third-year who hails from outside of Philadelphia, is doing with Batten Latinx Network (BLN).

Before winter break commenced, students, professors, and staff from the Batten School and University gathered with members of the United Nations in Minor Hall to study the art of storytelling—or at least one aspect of it.