Politics and Public Policy

One week after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, Lifetime Learning, in partnership with Morven Farm, hosted the program “Food and Justice in Virginia“ as part of the 2021 Community MLK Celebration. The panel addressed several of the many dimensions of food justice, including questions of food access, treatment of agricultural workers, and the continuing […]

In the aftermath of the events of January 6, 2021, John Ragosta looks at our nation’s violent history and offers hope. Ragosta is a fellow at Virginia Humanities, author of Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Legacy, America’s Creed, and lead faculty for Lifetime Learning‘s  Summer Jefferson Symposium at the University of Virginia. We welcome your comments below. […]

Stacey Abrams “galvanized the ground game” in Georgia, which flipped from red to blue in the 2020 presidential election for the first time since 1992, explains Barbara A. Perry and Alfred Reaves IV.  Perry is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and director of presidential studies, and Reaves is the faculty and program coordinator at the […]

Following the November U.S. elections, Barbara A. Perry comments on the tradition of presidential transitions. Perry (@BarbaraPerryUVA) is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia‘s Miller Center. We welcome your comments on this post below.   Transition Tradition: Presidential History Lessons In the classic Broadway play and […]

On June 2, Lifetime Learning sponsored a virtual webinar, “Election 2020: Presidents, Politics, and Pandemics,” moderated by Paul Freedman, associate professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. Mr. Freedman was joined by panelists William (Bill) Antholis, director and CEO of UVA’s Miller Center, and Jennifer Lawless, department chair and UVA’s Commonwealth […]

January 16 is Religious Freedom Day and John Ragosta discusses how Thomas Jefferson offered guidance for today’s difficult questions about religion and the law. Mr. Ragosta is the lead faculty for Lifetime Learning‘s Summer Jefferson Symposium and a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. The following article by […]

Nursing has historic ties to U.S. immigration policy, and Arlene W. Keeling provides commentary on how nurses should still play a critical role at our southern border. Ms. Keeling, PhD, RN, FAAN is the Centennial Distinguished Professor Emerita in the School of Nursing and former director of the Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical […]

Reposted with permission from the February 5, 2019 edition of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball   YES, VIRGINIA, THIS IS CHAOS By Larry J. Sabato and Kyle Kondik Sabato’s Crystal Ball Editor’s Note: This is a special edition of the Crystal Ball. Given the fast-moving developments in our home state over the last several days, we […]

Holiday downtime and New Year’s resolutions open the door to reading new titles. Barbara Perry offers book suggestions on influential U.S. political figures on both sides of the aisle, highlighting George H.W. and Barbara Bush. Ms. Perry is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies at the Miller Center at the University […]

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh concluded last week with a confirmation vote expected soon. James Todd, a lecturer in the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Virginia, offers commentary on […]