Batten funds UVA School of Leadership and Public Policy

Former newspaper publisher Frank Batten Sr. will donate $100 million to the University of Virginia. The donation is the largest single gift in the school’s history.
The money will be used to create the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Snippets from Virginia Business

“There’s an urgent need to develop the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders,” Batten said.
The Batten School will be the first new school at UVa since the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration was founded in 1954.
The Batten School will offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees, with full programs beginning in 2009. A master’s of public policy program will be established in 2009, followed by a post-doctoral program in public policy and a master’s in foreign service or global affairs. An undergraduate degree program in public policy, consisting of both foreign and domestic tracks, will also begin in 2009.
A search for the first dean of the Batten School will start this fall. UVa officials estimated the new school would aim for about 260 undergraduates and 160 graduate students. Snippets from the Daily Progress