Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy (UVA)

Last month Shelby Bavin, accelerated MPP '27 and coxswain on the UVA rowing team, was named captain of the 2025-26 Allstate NACDA Spring Good Works Team. Bavin has logged more than 2,000 hours as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT), providing critical emergency response to the Charlottesville and Albemarle County community. She is the first volunteer firefighter/EMT to be named captain in the history of the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team. Click the link in our bio to read the full article about Shelby!

Can’t believe it’s been nearly a week already! 🎓🎉🎊

Congratulations to UVA Batten class of 2026 🎉🎓🎊

This semester Professor Alexander Bick lead a reading group that explored Franz Kafka's haunting masterpiece, The Trial, and its themes of social alienation, bureaucratic overreach and the “deep state,” and the nature and dangers of authoritarianism – historically, and today. Last Friday, the group visited the Bechtler Museum in Charlotte, NC to see their show of Hanjürg Brunner's linocuts for a 1960s edition of Kafka's "The Trial."

"It was the perfect coda to the reading group," reported Professor Bick. "Although the book was written in 1914-15, students were really taken by how contemporary its core themes are and how much it has to say about the world we live in today. The works in the show were just as enigmatic, anxiety-inducing, and thought-provoking as the book itself. The curator, Katia Zavistovski, gave us a guided tour of the works, which were purchased by the Museum's main benefactor and are being displayed at the museum for the first time."

Four students came: Katie-Mae Owens, Julia Baker (UVA Batten BA), Isabella Costanzo, and Alek Georgeson (UVA Batten MPP).

The word “Hydra” may invoke images of a monstrous lake creature, but here on Grounds, Hydra is synonymous with the nationally ranked Women's Ultimate Frisbee Team. The team’s namesake is a nod to the mythological seven-headed beast, symbolizing the seven players on the field during a game. Learn more about the UVA Batten Students who play on Hydra and the team itself in the article linked in our bio!

https://batten.virginia.edu/uva-hydra-where-seven-heads-are-better-one

UVA Batten Wellness Week starts this Friday, April 24th! De-stress, fuel up, and get ready for exams.

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are warming Virginia’s climate, bringing more extreme weather and accelerating sea-level rise along its coastline. Virginia’s legislature responded with the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2019, setting a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 2050. Yet cutting emissions alone won’t get Virginia there. Carbon will remain in the atmosphere, and it must be actively removed. Each removal strategy has different downsides and benefits, for the state and for local communities. How can Virginia put the pieces together to form a comprehensive carbon dioxide removal plan that can be enacted statewide?

Join UVA Environmental Institute Associate Directors Andres Clarens and Leon Szeptycki as they share their research on this important topic. Clarens and Szeptycki co-lead the Virginia Climate Restoration Initiative, which released interactive tools assessing carbon dioxide removal strategies on a county-by-county basis.

Register: https://bit.ly/4taG9Q7

The Fourth-Year Dinner at UVA Batten is an end-of-year celebration that honors graduating students though an evening of reflection, connection, inspiring speeches, and the presentation of the Legacy Awards recognizing their leadership and achievements. Students heard from Dean Ian Solomon, founder of the Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation, Karen Leshner, and Batten Undergraduate Council President Faith Windbigler.

Legacy Award Winners:
Leader Among Leaders Award - Faith Windbigler
‘Fearless Frank’ Integrity Award - Suliana Barrera Paredes
Pioneer Award - Catherine Housson
Virginian-Pilot Intellectual Curiosity Award - Anna Bartlett
Perseverance Award - Zacarias Toimil (not in attendance)