For the latest edition of Batten Expert Chats, Harry Harding mapped the deteriorating relationship between two of the world’s greatest superpowers and offered his predictions for a Cold War “2.0.”

Many Americans take the stability of their food supply for granted, but the pandemic has revealed domestic and global weaknesses in our food systems, one Batten professor argues.

Since the 9-11 attacks, it has become increasingly clear that the congressional role in US foreign policy, particularly in matters of war and peace, has faded to virtually nothing. Batten's Phil Potter, Associate Professor of Politics and Public Policy and Director of the National Security Policy Center, elaborates.

Last week, University of Virginia men’s basketball players Austin Katstra and Tomas Woldetensae were recognized for their work in the classroom.The National Association of Basketball Coaches named the rising fourth-year students to its Honors Court, a group of student-athletes from across the country who earned varsity letters and had a grade-point average of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2019-20 academic year.

Batten Professor of Public Policy Jeanine Braithwaite and PhD candidate Kamwoo Lee discuss poverty and upper respiratory infections in Senegal for the Center for Global Health's Global COVIDiaries. 

Recent graduate Rachel Davidson Raycraft (MPP/JD ’20) discusses her work as a 2019-20 World Economic Forum Research Assistant and participation in their ongoing project with the Inter-American Development Bank and Colombian Inspector General’s Office on blockchain-based procurement.  

It is estimated that only 2% of people around the world have access to mental health and psychosocial support, or MHPSS. The question is, will COVID-19 offer us a chance to change this? Batten’s Kirsten Gelsdorf and Lucy Bassett provide critical insights into the barriers to progress in MHPSS interventions, and identify opportunities to prioritize and invest in new programs going forward.

Local leaders like Batten's Brooke Ray say the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a sharp increase in unemployment claims across the commonwealth and the country, is exacerbating existing problems like food insecurity, especially where systemic issues already existed.

Today, the Batten School and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) announced the winners of the 2020 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition—the largest student simulation competition in higher education. There were 64 teams competing at seven sites around the globe, devising and implementing public transport policies in order to create improved sustainability strategies for their virtual cities.

For the second expert chat in the Batten School’s series on the novel coronavirus, Professor Kirsten Gelsdorf discussed how the humanitarian community is rising to the challenges the virus presents.