The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute - University of Arkansas System

Blair Center, Rockefeller Institute to Launch National Survey

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PETIT JEAN MOUNTAIN, Ark. (April 19, 2010) — The Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society and Winthrop Rockefeller Institute have announced a new venture in their partnership that is slated to have an “immediate national impact.”

These organizations, both part of the University of Arkansas System, will conduct a national survey with a representative oversample of respondents living in the former states of the Confederate South, making it the only academic national survey with a Southern focus.

“The significance of this survey for our partnership cannot be overstated,” said Todd Shields, director of the Blair Center. “We believe it will become a cornerstone of scholarship about the region, a robust source of news content, and a primary resource of information for policy and business leaders interested in the South.”

The Rockefeller Institute – Blair Center Southern Politics and Policy Survey will examine Southern political attitudes and policy trends, particularly among minority populations. It will oversample both black and Latino populations to ensure an accurate analysis of contemporary Southern attitudes and behaviors. Shields said that the survey will cover a niche that remains thoroughly understudied.

“Changes across the South in regard to minority populations make the use of existing national surveys less than ideal indicators of social-cultural influences on political values,” Shields said. “Ensuring representative samples of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in public opinion polls will allow researchers and those who implement policy to have access to a truly representative sample of black and Latino opinions and community needs.”

The survey will be conducted in even-numbered election years and will be fielded immediately following the state and national elections in November. The timing will make the survey useful for studying voting, candidate preferences and election behavior.

“If all goes according to plan, we will be on Petit Jean in November and Charlie Rose will be asking us about Southern politics,” Shields said.

Following the inaugural 2010 survey, the Blair Center and the Rockefeller Institute will host an event at the Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain to announce the preliminary findings and to address work that will be conducted over the next year associated with the results. A policy-focused conference will take place in fall 2011 following a yearlong study of the survey results.

To learn more about the Rockefeller Institute – Blair Center Southern Politics and Policy Survey, contact Todd Shields at 479-575-3356, or Joe Foster, senior program coordinator at the Rockefeller Institute, at 501-727-6219.

The Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society was established by an act of U.S. Congress in 2001, making it one of the rare research centers in the country to be established by congressional appropriation. It was named in honor of Diane Divers Blair who taught in the Political Science department at the University of Arkansas for 30 years. Her career outside of teaching included extensive public service as chair of both the U.S. Corporation of Public Broadcasting and the Commission on Public Employee Rights. The Blair Center reflects her academic model and strives to approach the study of the American South from a variety of angles, attempting to reveal the undercurrents of politics, history and culture that have shaped the region over time.

In 2005, the University of Arkansas System established Winthrop Rockefeller Institute with a grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust. By integrating the resources and expertise of a statewide university system with the legacy and ideas of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, this educational institute and conference center creates an atmosphere where collaboration and change can thrive.

The Rockefeller Institute offers a variety of workshops, seminars, public lectures, conferences and special events. Program areas include agriculture and environment, arts and humanities, economic development, and policy and public affairs. To learn more, call 501-727-5435, visit the website at LiveTheLegacy.org, or stay connected on Twitter and Facebook.