The Scripps Howard Fund is committed to the development of innovative and entrepreneurial leaders in the field of investigative journalism, while supporting broad public understanding and improved perceptions of its critical role in supporting functional, healthy, democratic societies.
In 2018, the first two Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University and the University of Maryland were established by the Scripps Howard Foundation, an affiliated organization with the Scripps Howard Fund.
The Howard Centers are university-based and are designed to work together with other Howard Centers toward the common goals of promoting and producing high quality investigative journalism. Howard Centers promote interdisciplinary collaborations and cross-cultural studies and strive to attract graduate students of diverse academic and professional backgrounds. The students attending a Howard Center will be introduced to, among other things, new media, data mining and the ethics and history of investigative journalism.
The Howard Centers honor the legacy of Roy W. Howard, former chairman of the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain and a pioneering news reporter whose relentless pursuit of the news took him around the world, spurred innovation and helped lay the groundwork for modern journalism.
Executive Director: Kathy Best
The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism will work collaboratively with Capital News Service to train the next generation of reporters and produce the highest quality investigative journalism.
Executive Director: Mark Greenblatt
The Howard Center will be the cornerstone of the nation’s first Master’s Degree in Investigative Journalism. It has three main goals: Creating a new generation of multidisciplinary, multiplatform investigative journalists; Producing impactful national investigations distributed by major media outlets; Honoring, preserving and celebrating the legacy of Roy W. Howard.