CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Scripps Survey Research Center, offering enhanced instruction on behavioral research, will open at Ohio University in Athens this fall thanks to a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation.The new research facility — to be housed within the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at OU’s College of Communications — will boost OU’s reputation as a center for the study of behavioral research by offering students new state-of-the-art equipment for the processing of computer-aided interviews. “This is a landmark development for the region’s journalism education,” said Judith G. Clabes, president and chief executive officer of the Scripps Howard Foundation. “We’re thrilled to add a new dimension to our long-term relationship with Ohio University, especially in a capacity that has implications for so many academic disciplines. Communication students and faculty will develop hands-on experience with sophisticated polling techniques, and all 10 colleges at the OU campus will have access to the behavioral research that is conducted.”The Scripps Survey Research Center will link instruction and research across the five schools within the College of Communication, as well as provide a needed laboratory for students throughout the university. The center will also serve as a research tool for The Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development, which serves local governments, state agencies and non-profit organizations in Ohio. Polls conducted in recent years by students at Ohio University have been used by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune and the Atlanta Constitution. The school’s polling data also is stored by the Roper Repository database at the University of Connecticut.The Scripps Howard Foundation’s support of the research center is only the latest contribution to Ohio University’s College of Communication. In 1982, the foundation made a commitment to the college by awarding an endowment that renamed the journalism school after Edward W. Scripps, journalism pioneer and founder of The E. W. Scripps Company.The foundation also provides funding for scholarships, faculty improvements, public affairs reporting, the Scripps Howard Visiting Professional Chair, and the executives-in-residence program.