Frank Batten Sr. |
The largest single gift in the history of the University will create the first new school at U.Va. in more than a half century. Frank Batten Sr. (Col ’50), retired chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications Inc., has donated $100 million to create the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
The aim of The Batten School, in both its undergraduate and graduate programs, will be to train leaders who can drive the policy innovation process, energize organizations, build inclusive coalitions and translate good ideas into action. The new school will be closely aligned with many of the University’s existing schools, including law, business, medicine, engineering and education, as well as with key programs such as politics, economics and applied ethics.
"There’s an urgent need to develop a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders who can bring about transformational change," Batten says. "Talented public leaders are needed from a range of professional backgrounds, including law, medicine, business administration and the social sciences. It is critical to get younger people excited about the responsibilities and opportunities of public service in all its manifestations.
"The earlier in their careers that exceptional students begin to think of themselves as future public leaders who can promote a better society," he adds, "the greater the likelihood they will become such leaders."
Provost Gene Block, who played an integral role in planning the school, says its grounding in critical thinking, scientific inquiry and public engagement, coupled with a focus on leadership skills, will distinguish it from similar programs around the country.
A new dean to head The Batten School will likely be appointed in the next year and classes will begin in the fall of 2009. The school will be comparable in size to other public policy programs at leading public research universities, with an estimated enrollment of 390 students—225 undergraduates and 165 graduate students. It will have 18 full-time faculty members and will draw on a half-dozen other faculty from schools and departments across the University.
The last school to be created at U.Va. was the Darden Graduate School of Business, 53 years ago.
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The Batten School's mission
• Provide innovative training programs in leadership and policy analysis
• Foster research on critical public problems such as poverty, education and health care
• Apply its research in service to the broader community through outreach and public action
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A HISTORY OF GIVING
The next five largest single gifts to the University
$64 million from David A. Harrison III (2002)
The late David A. Harrison III (College ’39, Law ’41) was one of the University’s most generous alumni during his lifetime. He made an even greater impact on the institution after his death. Distributions from his 2002 estate and a previously established trust provided the University with $64 million, most of it for endowed professorships in law and medicine. Harrison also created a trust in excess of $50 million that the University will receive in 20 years.
$60 million from Frank Batten Sr. (1999)
In 1999, the Darden Graduate School of Business received a $60 million gift from Frank Batten Sr. for entrepreneurial leadership. The funds created the Batten Institute, which succeeded the Batten Center, established earlier with a $13.5 million challenge gift from Batten and his family.
$52.6 million from Ward Buchanan (2002)
The University received a $52.6 million bequest from Ward Buchanan (Law ’14) in 2002 to create an unrestricted endowment fund for the University Medical Center. Known as the Buchanan Fund, the endowment is invested to generate support for the University’s hospitals and clinics.
$45 million from John W. Kluge (2001)
Businessman and philanthropist John W. Kluge gave the University of Virginia Foundation his 7,378-acre Albemarle County estate in 2001. The gift, valued at more than $45 million, included historic Morven Farm, 10 working farms and more than two dozen buildings. Kluge’s desire was that the University develop the core of his property—the 749-acre Morven Farm—for educational purposes, and sell the remaining properties to build an endowment to support the facility.
$45 million from The Ivy Foundation (2005)
The Ivy Foundation of Charlottesville, chaired by William C. Battle (Col ’41, Law ’47), gave $45 million to the University of Virginia Health System in 2005 to expand laboratory space for biomedical research and to speed the translation of new discoveries into effective treatments and cures. The gift also supports new facilities for clinical research and patient care in the areas of cancer and children’s health.
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