PPOL 3050

This class was one of the best I've ever taken at UVA. Ross is extremely passionate about social entrepreneurship and it really comes across. He cares more about what your thoughts and ideas are and what they mean to you than about your ability to write a proper essay or put together the most intriguing powerpoint presentation (aka easy grades). He brought in tons of really great guest speakers and encouraged us to get involved in social entrepreneurship beyond the classroom. There were a few (really) short essays, a business development project with entrepreneurs (ours came over from Tibet!), and a final independent business or policy development presentation/paper. Classes were very very loosely structured. A lot of times he would just say "ok so what do you guys still want to know more about" and we would all just go from there. Great class if you want something that's low stress but very practical and engaging. I would take it again if I could.

Baird is a really nice guy who cares a lot about the subject matter. He's not the most organized professor because he also manages his company out of DC. It would be nice if he had more time for his students but it's an easy A and the information is valuable.