About News News Subscribe National Security Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy International and Global Affairs Leadership Education Ethics Health Policy Racial Justice and Equity Social Psychology Facet Area of Focus - News Craig Volden Philip Potter Gerald Warburg Noah Myung Xiao Wang Adam Roux Allan Stam Andy Ortiz David Leblang Eileen Chou Gabrielle Adams George Foresman Jennifer Lawless Facet People - News UVA Humanitarian Collaborative EdPolicyWorks: Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness UVA Center for Politics Karsh Institute of Democracy Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service Miller Center School of Education and Human Development School of Nursing Center for Social Innovation Darden School of Business School Engineering Social Innovation @ UVA College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Department of Economics McIntire School of Commerce School of Medicine (-) Center for Effective Lawmaking (-) National Security Policy Center (-) School of Law Facet UVA Partner - News Research and Commentary Faculty In Action Student Stories Accolades Alum in Action Featured Research Facet News Type - News Jun 10, 2024 How Effective are America’s State Legislators? Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science The Center for Effective Lawmaking has compiled a massive database to measure the effectiveness of nearly every state legislator in the U.S. Based on the center's trusted methodology developed a decade ago to rank the effectiveness of members of Congress, the project is the first to collect this kind of data at the state level in a comprehensive fashion. Learn more Jun 06, 2024 Batten Hosts Back-to-Back Political Conferences Domestic Policy & Politics The UVA Batten School is excited to co-host the national State Politics and Policy Conference this weekend, bringing together some 140 political science researchers from across the country to share their recent findings on a wide range of topics. Immediately following, Batten hosts the annual conference of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project with Vanderbilt University. Learn more Feb 11, 2024 Effective Lawmaking in Virginia: Past, Present and Future This week’s Batten Hour featured Bill Howell, former Speaker of the House of Delegates, and David Toscano, former House Minority Leader, in a discussion about how the legislature is addressing past, present and future policy challenges. Their discussion was moderated by Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Learn more Dec 22, 2023 Wang Wins AALS Award for Paper on Religious Freedom Xiao Wang (MPP '09), professor at UVA's School of Law and an affiliated Batten faculty member, has won the 2024 Harold Berman Award for Excellence in Scholarship from the Association of American Law Schools for his paper on a recent trend in religious freedom litigation. Learn more Sep 28, 2023 Grounds to Listen: With Dean Solomon and Jim Gilmore Welcome to Grounds to Listen, our new podcast hosted by Batten School Dean Ian Solomon featuring insightful conversations with leaders and scholars delving into the art of leadership in an increasingly diverse and divided world. Our first guest is former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. Learn more Sep 27, 2023 Briefing Congress's "Problem Solvers" The co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- Craig Volden of the Batten School and Tom Wiseman of Vanderbilt University -- held a briefing in DC recently with staff members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus to share their insights into what it takes to become an effective lawmaker. Read the blog Sep 19, 2023 Alum in Action: Citizens Can Drive Democracy, Even After a SCOTUS Ruling Democracy Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics Xiao Wang (MPP '09) an assistant professor at the Law School and Batten School and an expert on the U.S. Constitution, spoke at this week's "Batten Hour" about the implications of citizen-driven initiatives in response to unpopular rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Learn more Sep 11, 2023 Former Virginia Governor: Duty of Citizenship is Key to Democracy National Security Jim Gilmore was the featured speaker at Batten Hour on September 11, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. when he was Virginia's governor, and reflected on America’s readiness for potential future attacks, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing threat of authoritarianism globally. Learn more Jul 25, 2023 Improving Expertise of Congressional Staff Domestic Policy & Politics In an op-ed published in The Messenger, Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman of the Center for Effective Lawmaking write that without proper career training for congressional staffers, expertise gaps on Capitol Hill will continue to be problematic. Learn more May 31, 2023 Bipartisanship the “secret sauce” for effective lawmaking, despite rising polarization in Congress Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy Despite perceptions that Congress is dominated by partisan interests, a new study from the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- co-directed by Batten professor Craig Volden -- finds that legislators who draw in cosponsors from both sides of the aisle are more effective. Learn more May 22, 2023 Batten Student Advises Policymakers on Security Issues National Security Maggie Sparling spent part of her spring in Fiji, working on national security and having experts listen to her insights. Sparling, who graduated this spring with majors in history and economics, is in the public policy master’s program at Batten. Learn more Mar 20, 2023 Highlights from the New 117th Congress Legislative Effectiveness Scores Reps. Gerald Connolly, D-VA, and Don Bacon, R-NE, and Sens. Gary Peters, D-MI, and John Cornyn, R-TX, top their respective lists of the most effective Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the recently completed 117th Congress (2021–23), according to the latest round of legislative effectiveness scores compiled by the Center for Effective Lawmaking released March 20. Learn More Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Next page Next › Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Jun 10, 2024 How Effective are America’s State Legislators? Domestic Policy & Politics Political Science The Center for Effective Lawmaking has compiled a massive database to measure the effectiveness of nearly every state legislator in the U.S. Based on the center's trusted methodology developed a decade ago to rank the effectiveness of members of Congress, the project is the first to collect this kind of data at the state level in a comprehensive fashion. Learn more
Jun 06, 2024 Batten Hosts Back-to-Back Political Conferences Domestic Policy & Politics The UVA Batten School is excited to co-host the national State Politics and Policy Conference this weekend, bringing together some 140 political science researchers from across the country to share their recent findings on a wide range of topics. Immediately following, Batten hosts the annual conference of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project with Vanderbilt University. Learn more
Feb 11, 2024 Effective Lawmaking in Virginia: Past, Present and Future This week’s Batten Hour featured Bill Howell, former Speaker of the House of Delegates, and David Toscano, former House Minority Leader, in a discussion about how the legislature is addressing past, present and future policy challenges. Their discussion was moderated by Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Learn more
Dec 22, 2023 Wang Wins AALS Award for Paper on Religious Freedom Xiao Wang (MPP '09), professor at UVA's School of Law and an affiliated Batten faculty member, has won the 2024 Harold Berman Award for Excellence in Scholarship from the Association of American Law Schools for his paper on a recent trend in religious freedom litigation. Learn more
Sep 28, 2023 Grounds to Listen: With Dean Solomon and Jim Gilmore Welcome to Grounds to Listen, our new podcast hosted by Batten School Dean Ian Solomon featuring insightful conversations with leaders and scholars delving into the art of leadership in an increasingly diverse and divided world. Our first guest is former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. Learn more
Sep 27, 2023 Briefing Congress's "Problem Solvers" The co-directors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- Craig Volden of the Batten School and Tom Wiseman of Vanderbilt University -- held a briefing in DC recently with staff members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus to share their insights into what it takes to become an effective lawmaker. Read the blog
Sep 19, 2023 Alum in Action: Citizens Can Drive Democracy, Even After a SCOTUS Ruling Democracy Political Science Domestic Policy & Politics Xiao Wang (MPP '09) an assistant professor at the Law School and Batten School and an expert on the U.S. Constitution, spoke at this week's "Batten Hour" about the implications of citizen-driven initiatives in response to unpopular rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Learn more
Sep 11, 2023 Former Virginia Governor: Duty of Citizenship is Key to Democracy National Security Jim Gilmore was the featured speaker at Batten Hour on September 11, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. when he was Virginia's governor, and reflected on America’s readiness for potential future attacks, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing threat of authoritarianism globally. Learn more
Jul 25, 2023 Improving Expertise of Congressional Staff Domestic Policy & Politics In an op-ed published in The Messenger, Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman of the Center for Effective Lawmaking write that without proper career training for congressional staffers, expertise gaps on Capitol Hill will continue to be problematic. Learn more
May 31, 2023 Bipartisanship the “secret sauce” for effective lawmaking, despite rising polarization in Congress Domestic Policy & Politics Democracy Despite perceptions that Congress is dominated by partisan interests, a new study from the Center for Effective Lawmaking -- co-directed by Batten professor Craig Volden -- finds that legislators who draw in cosponsors from both sides of the aisle are more effective. Learn more
May 22, 2023 Batten Student Advises Policymakers on Security Issues National Security Maggie Sparling spent part of her spring in Fiji, working on national security and having experts listen to her insights. Sparling, who graduated this spring with majors in history and economics, is in the public policy master’s program at Batten. Learn more
Mar 20, 2023 Highlights from the New 117th Congress Legislative Effectiveness Scores Reps. Gerald Connolly, D-VA, and Don Bacon, R-NE, and Sens. Gary Peters, D-MI, and John Cornyn, R-TX, top their respective lists of the most effective Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the recently completed 117th Congress (2021–23), according to the latest round of legislative effectiveness scores compiled by the Center for Effective Lawmaking released March 20. Learn More