From Our Archive
Aug. 17, 2000
Scripps Howard Foundation
grants
$4 million
for Journalism
Center at Hampton University
CINCINNATI -- Scripps Howard
Foundation, in partnership with Hampton University to increase
diversity in America’s newsrooms, has committed $4 million for
the construction of a new journalism and communications center
on the university’s Virginia campus.
Including the
grant announced today, Scripps Howard Foundation has committed
nearly $7 million toward the development of a journalism and
communications program at Hampton. In March, the foundation,
the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company, committed
$2.3 million for the development of Hampton’s Scripps Howard
Program in Journalism.
The foundation and the
university unveiled plans for the new Scripps Howard Center
during the annual convention of the National Association of
Black Journalists (NABJ), which is being held this week in
Phoenix. The foundation also announced a five-year, $300,000
grant to NABJ, which the organization will use to develop
undergraduate and continuing education journalism programs at
Hampton.
Ground breaking for the 25,000-square-foot
Scripps Howard Center will be in October. The university plans
to hold its first classes in the new academic building in the
fall of 2001.
“Scripps Howard Foundation has been
determined to find a new and effective approach to improving
workplace diversity in our industry,” said Judith G. Clabes,
president and CEO of the foundation. “We set out to find a
partner among the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and
Universities because of the important role they play in
educating more than a third of this nation’s African-American
college graduates. Our search led us to Hampton. Funding for
this new building is the next big step in this unique
partnership.”
Hampton President Dr. William Harvey
said, “It’s exciting to be a part of the Hampton
University-Scripps Howard partnership. The goal is to make
Hampton University’s journalism program one of the top 10
programs in the country and to create at Hampton University a
role model for other historically black institutions and
potential media partners. Such partnerships will move more
talented, highly qualified people of color into the newsrooms,
executive suites, board rooms and into ownership. I truly
believe that this is a great day for the profession of
journalism and journalism education.”
William R. Burleigh,
chairman and CEO of The E. W. Scripps Company, said, “We have
a wonderful and unique partnership with Hampton. Hampton and
Scripps share deep and rich traditions, Scripps as the
nation’s oldest media company, and Hampton as one of the
country’s oldest and most respected of the Historically Black
Colleges and Universities. I can think of no better alliance
to tackle a problem that long has defied a solution.”
Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief operating officer
for The E. W. Scripps Company, said, “We view our partnership
with Hampton University as an important step forward, not just
for our company, but for our entire industry, to address a
problem that we all agree needs critical attention. We hope
others in our industry will follow our lead by partnering with
other Historically Black Colleges and Universities to expand
the pool of talented college graduates interested in pursuing
a career in the media.”
The foundation’s five-year
commitment to Hampton that was announced in March is being
used by the university to establish an endowed chair (the
Scripps Howard Professorship of Journalism), student
scholarships, internships and the Scripps Howard Visiting
Professional program. The endowment also will include the
purchase of equipment and funds for general program support,
including faculty workshops and seminars.
The new
Scripps Howard Center will have six classrooms; broadcast
journalism facilities, including a television studio with
state-of-the-art digital editing equipment; a multi-media
lecture hall/auditorium; and four computer labs for reporting,
writing and editing for print, broadcast and online journalism
and communications.
The $300,000 grant to NABJ will be
used to establish a training program for minority college
journalism students preparing for professional internships, a
series of short courses for student journalists and a media
management training program for working minority journalists.
“NABJ, through the years, has worked with Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, including Hampton,” said
William W. Sutton Jr., NABJ president and deputy managing
editor of The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer. “We are
excited about this partnership with the Scripps Howard
Foundation through which NABJ will be able to provide
programming focused primarily on student development, but also
including some professional development. Programs will focus
on key areas of need in the industry, including copy editing,
broadcast writing, producing and media management.”
Hampton University, located on a 204-acre waterfront
campus in southeastern Virginia, on the mid-Atlantic coast,
offers a quality academic program to all students. The
university was the first among Historically Black Colleges and
Universities to offer journalism-related curriculum when it
established its Department of Mass Media Arts in 1967. The
department prepares students for careers in five fields: print
and broadcast journalism, public relations, advertising and –
in a new sequence to be launched this fall – media management.
The new media management sequence is a collaboration between
the journalism-communications program and Hampton’s School of
Business.
Hampton provides a liberal arts foundation
for its professional and scientific disciplines. Some of the
major areas of study are: aviation science, architecture,
entrepreneurship, environmental and marine science, chemistry,
electrical and chemical engineering, music engineering
technology, education, English, business, computer sciences,
mass media, nursing, communicative sciences and disorders,
physical therapy, physics, paralegal studies, fire
administration, emergency medical systems management, and
systems management.
Students may earn the bachelor's
and/or master's degree in many areas. The Ph.D. is awarded in
physics, physical therapy and nursing; and the Pharm.D. is
awarded in pharmacy.
The National Association of Black
Journalists, 2,500 members strong with 74 affiliate
professional chapters and 51 student chapters, is the largest
media organization for people of color in the world. Founded
in 1975, NABJ’s mission is to strengthen ties among
African-American journalists; promote diversity in newsrooms;
honor excellence and outstanding achievement in the media
industry; expand job opportunities and recruiting activities
for established African-American journalists and students
interested in the journalism field; and expand and balance the
media’s coverage of the African-American community and
experience.
The E. W. Scripps Company, headquartered
in Cincinnati, is a diverse media concern with interests in
newspaper publishing, broadcast television, cable television
programming and interactive media. Scripps operates 20 daily
newspapers, 10 broadcast TV stations and three cable
television networks, with plans to launch a fourth.
Scripps cable television network brands include Home
& Garden Television, Food Network, Do it Yourself, and
Fine Living, due to launch in the second half of 2001.
The company also operates Scripps Howard News Service,
United Media, the worldwide licensing and syndication home of
PEANUTS and DILBERT, and 31 Web sites, including hgtv.com,
foodtv.com, diynet.com and comics.com.
Dedicated to
excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation, the
philanthropic arm of the E.W. Scripps Company, is a leader in
industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships,
internships, literacy, minority recruitment/development and
First Amendment causes.
Contacts: Mark W. Kroeger, Scripps Howard Foundation, 513-977-3827, mwkroeger@scripps.com; Yuri Rodgers, Hampton University, 757-727-5754, yuri.rodgers@hampton.edu; Katrina Norfleet Brown, National Association of Black Journalists, 602-514-7883, katrina@nabj.org