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The Batten School is embracing this holiday season by recognizing individuals, organizations, and projects that are making a positive impact in the world. Check out Hava’s Indiegogo Campaign. The first-of-its-kind air-filtering scarf will be available in Spring 2019.

Batten School Dean Allan Stam reflects on leadership lessons from George H.W. Bush.

During a luncheon in the Great Hall of Garrett Hall on Friday, Dec. 7, students enrolled in Professors Paul Martin and Sarah McLean’s “NGOs in the Policy Arena” course awarded $80,000 in grants to six local organizations fighting food insecurity.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, Denver Riggleman, the Representative-elect for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, visited the Batten School. Sitting in on Batten professor Gerry Warburg’s “Congress 101: Advanced Legislative Strategy” class, Riggleman’s visit gave second-year MPP students who have studied the history of Congress a rare opportunity to interact with their subject matter—in person and up close rather than just reading about it in the news.

On Saturday, Dec. 1, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy hosted the first Central Virginia Learning Exchange (CVLE) summit to improve communications, enhance understanding, and encourage a better working relationship between the Charlottesville community and the police.

University of Virginia founder Thomas Jefferson said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” An apt statement and one that resonates strongly with Batten student Thomith Chin (MPP ’20) and his nonprofit organization, International Youth for a Better World (IYFABW).

The Batten School’s Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), announced its first round of grant recipients. The Center, which launched in 2017, is a joint partnership between the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University and is co-directed by Batten professor, Craig Volden and Vanderbilt professor, Alan E. Wiseman.

On Friday, Nov. 16, The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy hosted an event: “Traditional Healing and Social Welfare.” Spearheaded by Batten Professor Jeanine Braithwaite, the event brought together scholars from the University of Venda and the University of Limpopo, both located in South Africa, to discuss the collaborative work being done in the social sciences on traditional healing and social welfare in South Africa.

This past month, Batten Professor Brian Williams established the Morris E. and Frances G. Williams Community Engagement Student Assistance Fund. The fund, which will be distributed by the Office of Student Services, aims to encourage student-led engagement efforts that enhance the town and gown relationship in Charlottesville and surrounding areas of Central Virginia.

On Wednesday morning, Nov. 14th, students, faculty, staff, and members of the community gathered in The Dome Room of The Rotunda for a panel discussion titled “Mobilizing for the ERA: Lessons from the Past and Present.” The event was part of a 10-day statewide tour aimed at educating Virginians on the absence of gender equality in the U.S. Constitution and highlighting bipartisan statewide support for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

Last April, Baylee Eby (MPP '15) launched Dreamer & Co, a social impact company whose mission is to provide job skills and a steady income to young women in the Horn of Africa.

On Monday, Nov. 12, Batten students gathered in the Great Hall of Garrett Hall for a post-election wrap-up led by Batten’s Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL). This was not a typical Batten Hour with the exception that food was served. Rather, the event was reminiscent of a game of musical chairs. Every eight minutes, students moved to a new table, where CEL Director Craig Volden, Operations Director Greer Kelly, CEL researchers and interns, along with Professor of Practice of Public Policy Gerald Warburg, discussed the implications of last Tuesday's midterm election results.