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In the last two decades, drug overdoses have slowly overtaken motor vehicle fatalities as the leading cause of death in the United States. In Virginia alone, the Office of the Attorney General estimates that more than 900 residents died from overdoses of heroin or prescription drugs in 2015.

In a study recently accepted by the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, I consider the effects of DNA databases on criminal behavior and crime rates in the United States.

There is a revolution under way in state support for research in higher education. It is a revolution with substantial casualties.

This fall, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy welcomes five new professors to its faculty. Their combined education, experience and expertise will contribute to the school's course offerings and research output.

As of earlier this year, 65 million people around the globe have been displaced by violent conflict. That’s the highest number since World War II. This isn’t a new problem, but heavy media coverage of the crisis in Syria has forced the world to pay more attention to refugees of all nations.

In May, the University of Virginia’s Batten Global Policy Center and the Social Entrepreneurship at UVA program sponsored the University’s first study-abroad course in the Caribbean country of Dominica, giving students hands-on social entrepreneurship experience in a small, developing island-state where start-ups are crucial to the economy.

On August 18, 2016, new Master of Public Policy students will learn about the Batten School and hear from a leading U.S. State Department official.

Health professionals have spent years trying to pinpoint the sources of America’s rising obesity levels, but research by University of Virginia Professor Christopher Ruhm suggests it might be time to look beyond the usual suspects.

The tumult in global markets caused by the Brexit vote and the overheated rhetoric coming from the U.S. presidential campaign obliges a reassessment of the role nationalism should play in the 21st century.

After meeting many of the Batten students, I realized that I wouldn’t just be learning from my professors, but my peers as well. The school has an inspiring student body who are passionate about making a difference in the world.

A recently published article in the Southern Economic Journal examines the effects of economic variables on the upward trend of obesity in the United States.

The University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and NASPAA announced a five-year affiliation agreement to partner in the Student Simulation Competition. This collaboration will allow the Batten School and NASPAA to develop and operate a world-class quality competition.