Faculty & Staff Directory

Leah Daniel is Batten’s Salesforce Manager. Prior to joining Batten, Leah was Senior Financial Analyst and Salesforce Administrator at UVA School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. She brings years of database management experience to Batten from her role as database manager at both the Darden School Foundation (1997-2003) and the UVA Law School Foundation (2004-2017). Leah holds a B.S. from the University of South Carolina.

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Tim Davis

Timothy
L.
Davis

Associate Professor of Leadership and Public Policy
Garrett L027

Tim Davis is an associate professor of leadership and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.  A clinical psychologist, Davis helps students, executives and teams increase their effectiveness by building resiliency, strengthening community and expanding self-awareness. At Batten, he teaches courses on team leadership, group dynamics and emotional resilience.  

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Alec Davis headshot

Alec Davis is the Lab Manager for the Culture, History, Identity, and Policy Lab and the Social Motivation Lab in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

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Jim Detert

James
R.
Detert

Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy

Jim Detert is a professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Detert's research focuses on workplace courage, ethical decision-making and behavior, improvement-oriented voice (why people speak up or stay silent at work) and other leadership-related topics.

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Kyle Dobson

Kyle S. H.
Dobson

Assistant Professor of Leadership and Public Policy
Garrett Hall L004A

As of Fall 2023, Kyle Dobson is an assistant professor of leadership and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Dobson takes an interdisciplinary approach to organizational studies, focusing primarily on occupations where employees sacrifice their well-being in service to others. His work has focused on police departments primarily, with expansion to schools and other organizations. 

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Heather Downs

Heather
Downs

Director of Academic Operations

Heather Downs joined Batten in December 2023 as the Director of Academic Operations. She has served UVA Athletics since 2013, most recently as the Executive Director of Student Development.

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marie larounis

Marie
Larounis

Lab Manager, Applied Public Policy and Leadership Experiments Lab and Social Cognition and Behavior Lab

Marie Larounis is the Lab Manager for the Applied Public Policy and Leadership Experiments Lab and the Social Cognition and Behavior Lab in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

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Dana Laurens

Dana
Laurens

Assistant Director of Career Services & Alumni Engagement
Garrett Hall L002A

Dana Laurens most recently served as National Deputy Director for Advocacy, Policy Engagement & Partnerships at Education Reform Now, a national think-tank in Washington, DC, where she lobbied federal lawmakers to advance progressive policies that maximize educational opportunities for all students. 

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Jennifer Lawless

Jennifer
Lawless

Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics and Professor of Public Policy
264 Gibson Hall

Jennifer L. Lawless is the Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics and professor of public policy at the University of Virginia and at the Batten School. Lawless is also a Senior Fellow at UVA's Miller Center. Her research focuses on political ambition, campaigns and elections, and media and politics.

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David Leblang

David
Leblang

Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics and Public Policy

David Leblang is a professor of public policy at the Batten School, the Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, and the Randolph Compton Professor of Public Affairs at UVA's Miller Center. Leblang is a scholar of political economy with research interests in global migration and in the politics of financial markets.

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Brooke Lehmann

Brooke Lehmann is a lecturer at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. A national expert on the design, development, and reform of pediatric health/mental health services, special education and child welfare systems, her work addresses policies ranging from school-based health care to international crisis support for children and families.

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Michael Lenox

Michael
Lenox

Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business and Professor of Public Policy; Senior Faculty Fellow, UVA Miller Center; Senior Advisor to the Dean, Darden

Michael J. Lenox is the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration and special advisor for the dean at the Darden School of Business; senior faculty fellow at the Miller Center, where he serves as an Academic Co-Director of the Project on Democracy and Capitalism; and professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Lenox's primary expertise is in the domain of technology strategy and policy. He is broadly interested in the role of innovation and entrepreneurship for economic growth and firm competitive success.

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Craig Lindqvist

Craig
Lindqvist

Associate Dean for Administration
(434) 243-7528

Craig Lindqvist serves as the Associate Dean for Administration at the Batten School where he oversees the school's business affairs, planning, finances, personnel, technology, facilities, and other non-academic functions.

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Molly Lipscomb

Molly
Lipscomb

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Director of Social Innovation @ UVA

Molly Lipscomb is an associate professor of public policy and economics at the Batten School and the Director of the Center for Social Innovation at the University of Virginia.  Lipscomb’s research focuses primarily on environmental issues in developing countries and adaptation to lack of centralized health and sanitation services. 

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Jennifer Ludovici

Jennifer
Ludovici

NSPC Director of Operations and Research Initiatives

Jennifer Ludovici is the NSPC Director of Operations & Research Initiatives. She has over 18 years of experience in higher education administration in both the public and private sector. In her role at the NSPC, she focuses on faculty research collaboration, project coordination and program development as well as general operations and communications. Jennifer holds a post-graduate certificate in project management from UVA, and a BA/MEd in history and education from James Madison University.

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