Driving through Southwest Virginia, Richard Tadler, a venture capitalist and UVA graduate, was able to see firsthand some of the challenges that Virginia’s rural communities are facing; but more importantly, he was struck by the opportunities they present both for impact investors interested in facilitating economic growth at a time of transition, and for UVA students to learn about all the exciting sustainable economic development going on in their own backyard.

Bevin Etienne is assistant professor of commerce and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Etienne has extensive teaching and course development experience in the areas of sustainability, entrepreneurship, energy, and engineering design. He emphasizes the importance of capacity building in promoting sustainability and social entrepreneurship in developing countries as well as the role of open source in innovation and entrepreneurship.  

Christine Mahoney is a professor of public policy and politics and chief innovation officer at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.  She studies social justice advocacy, activism and direct action through social entrepreneurship.

Bala Mulloth is an assistant professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Mulloth is a globally oriented educator and entrepreneur and his work focuses on innovation and social entrepreneurship.

In this issue: Dean Stam writes about how Batten students, faculty and staff are building a society where democracy can thrive, a new partnership between the Batten School and the UVA Center for Politics focuses on citizen engagement, how Batten students and alumni discover the transformational power of state government, and a Batten alum reflects on what led her to a career in the humanitarian sector.

Hear about the school’s trajectory from our new Dean, Allan Stam, and get to know him better in a special Q&A. The feature story profiles exciting research underway at the school, and Assistant Dean for External Affairs Gerald F. Warburg writes about visions for the school circa 2030.