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Andy Pennock is an associate professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, teaching courses in leadership, policy analysis, political institutions and Virginia politics and policy. Pennock teaches three classes in the MPP core curriculum: Leadership in the Public Arena (LPPL 6050), where students learn to navigate the politics of change in public organizations, and the Applied Policy Project (APP I & II), where MPP students bring value to a real-world client through applied policy analysis as part of a two-semester applied capstone sequence.

During his time at Batten, Pennock has engaged and built relationships with state policy makers in Richmond, increasing Batten’s influence on policy development and implementation in Virginia and providing students with experiential learning and career opportunities. In 2018, he launched one of Batten’s first policy clinics, leading to 10 students staffing the transition teams for incoming Governor Ralph Northam. In 2019, he coordinated a campaign to pass HB 2258 which protected access to affordable, high-quality co-op preschool for more than 30 communities across Virginia. For this work, Pennock was given an outstanding achievement award by Parent Cooperative Preschools International.

Pennock serves UVA as the faculty director of Batten’s MPP orientation program, on Batten’s curriculum committee, and as an elected member of the Executive Council of the Faculty Senate which advises the President and Provost on major institutional issues. He also serves on the Academic Affairs Committee, which advises on and approves new and revised academic programs from across UVA. He was recently recognized by the Batten School for outstanding service to the School and University of Virginia as the winner of the 2020-2021 Batten School Service Award.

Pennock’s academic research examines public policy in the global economy as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning. His 2019 book with CQ Press won a Textbook Excellence Award from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association and is used in professional schools across the nation. His work has been published in Perspectives on Politics, Economics & Politics, and PS: Political Science & Politics.  

Prior to joining Batten, Pennock taught at Brown University, where he was Director of Graduate Studies as well as Director of Brown’s Applied Social, Economic & Regulatory Analysis (ASERA) Group, which partnered with government institutions, non-profit organizations and other entities to provide technical expertise, policy analysis and program evaluation. A seasoned instructor before arriving at UVA in 2015, Pennock had won multiple teaching awards during his time at Brown and at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was recognized by both the Chancellor and the student body for his work in the classroom.

Outside of Batten, he is the father of four young boys who wrestle with him all the time. He and his wife, Charity, love to cook, read, garden, travel and have good conversation whenever they can.