Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy

The University of Virginia established the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy in 2007 as part of its strategic plan and as an expression of its Jeffersonian heritage.  The Batten School is the newest school at the University since the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration was created in 1954.

Through its instructional, research, and outreach programs, the Batten School contributes in important ways to public understanding and deliberation of the great domestic and international issues of each age. Its mission is to educate men and women to become engaged and enlightened citizens and effective and ethical leaders who understand the responsibilities and opportunities of service to the public and can help bring about transformational change. The Batten School trains students in critical leadership skills, and in the analytics and substance of policy.  Its programs inspire students to act vigorously, effectively, and ethically on behalf of the common good.  Faculty are committed to teaching the use of rigorous analysis, the subtle understanding of political, social and economic context, and the exercise of creative personal and organizational leadership to initiate change in an increasingly diverse world.

The School is made possible by a generous gift from the late Frank Batten, Sr., one of the University’s most loyal supporters.  Batten was the retired chair and CEO of Landmark Communications Inc.  He was known for his keen interest in the areas of leadership, citizenship, and public service.

The Batten School offers two programs that lead toward the graduate professional degree of Master of Public Policy.  An accelerated version of the degree enables a select group of U.Va. undergraduates the opportunity to earn the degree after one additional year of study following receipt of their bachelor’s degree.  A two-year program offers the same degree to post-graduate students from other colleges and universities.  The Batten School also offers five dual degree programs: MPP/JD (Law School), MPP/MBA (Darden Graduate School of Business), MPP/PhD (Curry School of Education), MPP/MPH (Department of Public Health Sciences in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences), and MPP/MUEP (Department of Urban and Environmental Planning in the School of Architecture).

In fall 2012 the Batten School launched the Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership.  The Batten undergraduate program is a selective multidisciplinary, liberal arts degree focused on understanding how public policy decisions are made, how civic leaders in government, non-profit organizations, and the private sector contribute to collective problem solving.  Although not a pre-professional degree, the Batten undergraduate program gives students an opportunity to develop their critical and analytical thinking, and their communication, leadership, and research skills.