UVA Batten community members tapped for University strategic planning committee
On Monday, University of Virginia President Scott Beardsley announced the formation of a new committee tasked with developing a long-term strategic plan for the University, and two members of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy community were selected to serve.
Imane Akhanous, a master’s in public policy student and former chair of the Representative Body of Student Council, and Andy Pennock, associate professor of public policy and member of the Faculty Senate Executive Council, will join 20 other students, faculty, staff and Board of Visitors members on the committee.
“Batten has taught me that good policy is rooted in evidence, informed by the people and its effects, and designed with the long term in mind,” Akhanous said. “My responsibility is not simply to speak for students but to listen carefully and ensure their experiences are reflected in the University’s long-term vision.”
The committee’s work will build on Beardsley’s “Grounds for Conversation” listening and learning tour, which began after he took office in January. It will also include a community-wide survey and in-person and virtual opportunities for input. A final plan is expected to go before the Board of Visitors in April 2027.
Beardsley has outlined several priorities for the plan, including faculty excellence, access and affordability, research infrastructure and a new “Connected Grounds” initiative to link UVA’s physical campus, virtual platforms and intellectual community.
“It’s hard to think of a time when there have been more challenges facing the University in particular, and the world more globally,” Pennock said. “The artificial intelligence revolution is an opportunity for more learning and more effective research productivity than ever before. It is also a fundamental threat to our value proposition as an educational institution.”
Pennock, who has served in the UVA Faculty Senate since 2018, said he hopes to draw on those relationships as the committee does its work.
“UVA is positioned to make unique contributions to the thriving of Virginia, the U.S. and of the world,” he said. “If there is work I can do to help UVA achieve those ends, I’m going to say yes.”
The committee will meet this summer to finalize its agenda, with work beginning in August.
