Ian Solomon, dean of the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, announced Tuesday he will step down Aug. 2 to serve as the president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, an 85-year-old foundation established by the grandsons of John D. Rockefeller to “advance social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable and peaceful world.”
Solomon will remain connected to UVA as a special adviser to the provost through Sept. 1, when he will leave to assume his new role with the nonprofit organization.
Associate Dean Eileen Chou will step in as interim dean Aug. 3. Chou has been a member of the Batten School’s faculty since 2012 and has served as associate dean for academic affairs since 2023.
“I have loved the Batten School since my first day nearly seven years ago,” Solomon said. “It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve this community and to live in Pavilion X on the Lawn. I have also been infinitely fortunate in the friends I have loved here and the good work we have accomplished. Thank you for making this among the most rewarding chapters of my life and career.”
Before becoming dean, Solomon held several positions in the federal government, including legislative counsel to then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and a senior adviser to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. In 2010, he was confirmed unanimously by Congress as the U.S. executive director for the World Bank Group, where he negotiated stakeholder agreements on global food security and private-sector development in Africa.
Dean Ian Solomon, left, will step down Aug. 2, but will remain as an adviser to the provost until September. Associate Dean Eileen Chou will serve as the Batten School’s interim dean. (Left photo contributed; right, University Communications photo)
Solomon also held leadership positions and taught negotiation at Yale Law School and the University of Chicago.
Since arriving on Grounds in 2019, Solomon has been a fixture of University leadership, frequently lending his expertise to support initiatives beyond the Batten School. He helped shape the school’s multidisciplinary faculty of scholars focused on developing new knowledge, creating ethical leaders and advancing solutions to major policy challenges. His efforts were also pivotal in expanding the Batten School’s physical footprint into the new Karsh Institute of Democracy building in the Emmet-Ivy Corridor.
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Brie Gertler praised Solomon’s tenure as dean, citing his role in strengthening the school’s faculty and student body.
“Over the last seven years as dean, he has laid the foundation for Batten’s continued success, recruiting talented students, faculty and staff and fostering a climate of respect and collaboration within the school and partners across the University,” she said.
Solomon said he is looking forward to the work ahead in his new role.
“I am honored by this opportunity to lead the Rockefeller Brothers Fund,” Solomon said. “I have long admired the fund, whose commitment to the greater good has touched many of the causes and organizations that inspire me. I am energized by the prospect of close collaboration with the leaders in and outside the organization who are charting the path to a more just, sustainable and peaceful world, and I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.”
Chou, whose research focuses on the social, psychological and organizational mechanisms that shape leadership, cooperation and decision-making, said she is honored to assume the role of interim dean. She has received numerous research and teaching awards, including a University Teaching Award in 2017.
“It is a privilege to serve the Batten community during this transition,” Chou said. “I am deeply grateful to Dean Ian Solomon for the steadfast leadership he has built over the past seven years. I look forward to working alongside our exceptional faculty and staff as we build on that foundation and continue to advance Batten’s mission together.”
The search for the Batten School’s new dean will begin in the fall, Gertler said.
