12/13/99

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Scripps Howard Foundation has donated $100,000 to the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism to fund a Scripps Howard Teaching Fellows Program for professional journalists interested in becoming journalism teachers.

"We're pleased to continue our support of the fine journalism program at Ohio University's Scripps School," said Judith G. Clabes, Scripps Howard Foundation president and CEO. "We are especially pleased to work with the school on a mutual objective -- continued commitment to quality journalism education."

The new program combines a major increase in the level of financial support for doctoral students, a mentoring program and teacher training. The new program will allow the school to attract the best applicants each year, said Dan Riffe, interim director of the school.

With substantial doctoral stipend support through the Scripps Howard gift, the school will compete with other top-ranked journalism programs in the country for the very best of these professionals, Riffe said.

Attracting superior journalism professionals as doctoral students supports the school's commitment to undergraduate teaching excellence because every doctoral student in the Scripps School of Journalism is required to teach. Fellows will gain valuable classroom experience in preparation for a teaching career and their undergraduate students will benefit from exposure to recent professional ideas, practices and trends, Riffe said.

The school is committed to helping fellows develop skills outside the classroom and will require weekly mentoring meetings of faculty-fellow pairs and a weekly group seminar on teaching strategies, tactics and issues, Riffe said.

"With this gift, the Scripps Howard Foundation has taken a giant step in demonstrating its commitment to journalism education," Riffe said. "The Scripps Howard funding helps professionals pursue graduate study and ensures that those professionals have an important impact on the next generation of journalists."

The Scripps Howard Foundation is a long-time supporter of Ohio University, especially the journalism school named in 1983 for its founder, E. W. Scripps. During the last 16 years, foundation gifts totaling more than $3.9 million have funded the Scripps Howard Visiting Professional Chair, the Scripps Survey Research Center and the renovation of the former Carnegie Library into the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, rated among the top ten journalism schools nationwide.