Clifford T. Lance of Calhoun has recently been accepted into the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at The University of Virginia. Only 50 undergraduate students were tapped for this inaugural major Class of 2014.

Lance’s UVA academic record includes Dean’s List distinction for every grading period and his leadership includes two successful elections. He is a member of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, and Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization.

Lance, a 2010 honor graduate of Calhoun High School, is the son of David and Barbara Lance, and the grandson of Clifford and Jacqueline Bell of Sandersville, Ga., and Bert and LaBelle Lance of Calhoun.

Located at the heart of the UVA grounds in the newly-renovated Garrett Hall, the Batten School began with a $100 million gift from Frank S. Batten and the simple idea that the world needs a new kind of policy leader. Mr. Batten, founder of The Weather Channel and head of Landmark Communications, was known for his keen interest in the areas of leadership, citizenship and service to the public.

The mission of the Batten School is to educate leaders from the social sciences and other fields who understand the responsibilities and opportunities of service to the public and can help bring about transformational change.

The school, through its instructional, research, and outreach programs, contributes in important ways to public deliberation and enlightenment on the great domestic and international issues of each age.

The Batten School trains students in critical leadership skills, and in the analytics and substance of policy. Its programs inspire students to act vigorously, effectively and ethically on behalf of the common good.

Faculty are committed to teaching the use of rigorous analysis, the subtle understanding of political, social and economic context, and the exercise of creative personal and organizational leadership to initiate change in an increasingly diverse world.