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Register of the Scripps Research Institute Office of Public Affairs Records
MSS 72
MSS 72
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Title: The Scripps Research Institute Office of Public Affairs Records
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 72
Contributing Institution:
Mandeville Special Collections Library
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
17.0 Linear feet
41 archives boxes and 1 card file box
Date (inclusive): 1919 - 1992
Abstract: Records of the Office of Public Affairs of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), a biomedical research, educational and clinical
institution first located on Prospect Street in La Jolla, California, and later moved to Torrey Pines mesa. The collection
contains public relations materials, including photographs, correspondence, brochures, reports, newspaper clippings, and publications.
Creator:
Scripps Research Institute. Office of Public Corporate Body Affairs.
Scope and Content of Collection
The records of the Office of Public Affairs of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) document the growth of a nationally known
biomedical facility from its inception in 1924 to its relocation to Torrey Pines mesa in 1976. The collection contains public
relations materials, including correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, publications, and photographs that date from
1919 to 1989. The bulk of the materials dates between 1960 and 1980. The photographs provide a valuable visual history of
Scripps Clinic, while the written materials provide insight into fundraising and publicity efforts that accompanied TSRI's
growth as well as the image it sought to present to the public.
The materials are arranged in twelve series: 1) SUBJECT FILES, 2) CONSTRUCTION, 3) FUNDRAISING AND DONATIONS, 4) EVENTS AND
PROGRAMS, 5) SPECIAL UNITS AND VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS, 6) BIOGRAPHIES AND INSTITUTIONAL HISTORIES, 7) BROCHURES, DIRECTORIES
AND HANDBOOKS, 8) REPORTS, 9) NEWSLETTERS AND BULLETINS, 10) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, 11) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS, and 12) PHOTOGRAPHS.
SERIES 1: SUBJECT FILES
The SUBJECT FILES series contains reports, speeches, correspondence and informational sources about departments and medical
subjects. The files are arranged alphabetically.
SERIES 2: CONSTRUCTION
The CONSTRUCTION series contains environmental impact reports and construction updates associated with the construction of
the Torrey Pines mesa facility. The materials are arranged alphabetically.
SERIES 3: FUNDRAISING AND DONATIONS
The FUNDRAISING AND DONATIONS series is arranged in two subseries: A) Fundraising and B) Donations. Materials include brochures,
reports and other documentation for some of TSRI's fundraising activities, as well as newspaper documentation of a few specific
donations.
SERIES 4: EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
The EVENTS AND PROGRAMS series is arranged in two subseries: A) Events and B) Lay Language Program. The materials document
events in which the Office of Public Affairs was involved. The second subseries provides organizational and publicity information
about the Lay Language Program, an educational program for the general public.
SERIES 5: SPECIAL UNITS AND VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
The SPECIAL UNITS AND VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS series is an accumulation of correspondence, reports and newspaper clippings
related to a few of TSRI's volunteers and special units, all of which are organized alphabetically.
SERIES 6: BIOGRAPHIES AND INSTITUTIONAL HISTORIES
The BIOGRAPHIES AND INSTITUTIONAL HISTORIES series is arranged in two subseries: A) Biographies and B) Institutional Histories.
The first subseries contains limited biographical information about a few of the people prominent in TSRI's history and is
arranged in alphabetical order by last name. The second subseries contains histories and chronologies of the organization.
SERIES 7: BROCHURES, DIRECTORIES AND HANDBOOKS
The seventh series, BROCHURES, DIRECTORIES AND HANDBOOKS, contains primarily brochures, arranged alphabetically, that describe
patient facilities at Scripps Clinic.
SERIES 8: REPORTS
The REPORTS series contains annual reports for the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation between 1963 and 1984 and scientific
reports from 1976 to 1984.
SERIES 9: NEWSLETTERS AND BULLETINS
The NEWSLETTERS AND BULLETINS series is composed primarily of publications generated by TSRI to inform staff and dates between
1968 and 1985. The materials are organized alphabetically by title.
SERIES 10: NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
The NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS series (1924-1982) contains clippings collected by TSRI staff from regional sources, especially the
SAN DIEGO UNION, SAN DIEGO TRIBUNE and the LA JOLLA LIGHT.
SERIES 11: MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
The MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS series contains an art inventory, postcards and some certificates.
SERIES 12: PHOTOGRAPHS
The PHOTOGRAPHS series is arranged in seven subseries: A) Portraits, B) Group Portraits, C) Places, D) Facilities, E) Staff
at Work, F) Events, and G) Volunteer Organizations.
A) The Portraits subseries contains images of individuals who played significant roles in the history of TSRI, including photographs
of Ellen Browning Scripps.
B) The Group Portraits subseries contains group photographs of physicians, department staff and administrators.
C) The Places subseries contains aerial images of La Jolla from 1921 and 1954. Also included are photographs of Ellen Browning
Scripps's home.
D) The Facilities subseries documents the buildings and interiors of Scripps Clinic in La Jolla. Of particular interest is
a scrapbook that contains early historical photographs of the clinic, as well as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Also included are artist's conceptions and exterior photographs of the Torrey Pines facility.
E) In the Staff at Work subseries are images of clinical and research staff performing daily activities in laboratory and
hospital environments.
F) The Events series contains photographic documentation of groundbreaking ceremonies, dedications, check presentations, press
conferences, and golf tournaments. The materials are arranged chronologically by date of event.
G) The Volunteer Organizations subseries documents activities and individuals associated with the Cora Baker Aides, the Green
Girls and the Modernettes.
ACCESSION PROCESSED IN SEPTEMBER 1997
The accession processed in September 1997 consists primarily of photographs of events, personnel and facilities between 1972
and 1992 generated by the Public Affairs department of TSRI to illustrate
annual reports, brochures and other printed materials. Also included are histories of the institution from a variety of internal
sources, reports and updates from various departments, and some biographical material.
The accession is arranged in two series: 1) HISTORIES, REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE and 2) PHOTOGRAPHS.
SERIES 1: HISTORIES, REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE
The HISTORIES, REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE series contains a variety of written materials arranged alphabetically by title,
author or topic. Most notable among these materials are the several internal histories and statistics collected to document
the growth of the institution. The bulk of this material dates between 1970 and 1990.
SERIES 2: PHOTOGRAPHS
The PHOTOGRAPHS series is arranged in five subseries: A) Photograph File, B) Portraits and Group Photographs, C) Publications,
D) Facilities, and E) Miscellaneous.
A) The Photograph File (1972-1989) subseries contains black-and-white prints or contact sheets from various sources arranged
in chronological order. TSRI employed numerous freelance photographers for its projects. The subseries begins with a card
file subject index to the photographs created by the Office of Public Affairs. The images document the day-to-day activities
of the Institute, important people and special events.
B) The second subseries, Portraits and Group Photographs, contains photographs of TSRI's staff in individual and group poses.
C) The Publications subseries contains images used in a variety of Institute publications and is arranged by title. The images
are often mounted.
D) The fourth subseries contains photographs of the Institute's Torrey Pines facility.
E) The final subseries, Miscellaneous, contains micrographs and other miscellaneous illustrations.
A philanthropic gift by Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924 led to the foundation of the Scripps Metabolic Clinic on Prospect Street
in La Jolla, California. The early clinic was dedicated to research, education and patient treatment in the field of metabolic
diseases, especially diabetes. For the first three decades of its existence, the Clinic grew slowly and remained largely outside
the mainstream of medical and scientific research being conducted on the East Coast.
In 1955 Scripps Metabolic Clinic changed its name to the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation (SCRF) as part of an initiative
that propelled the institution to national prominence as an educational and research facility. The recruitment of Dr. Frank
Dixon along with virtually his entire department at the University of Pittsburgh to found SCRF's first basic science department--
experimental pathology-- boosted the Institute's standing. Under the leadership of Dr. Edmund Keeney, SCRF expanded throughout
the 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, SCRF doubled its size with the completion of the Timkin-Sturgis Research Building behind the
La Jolla Clinic.
In 1976, SCRF relocated to the Torrey Pines facility on land donated by Dow Chemical Company, again doubling the size of the
facility. A year later the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic (RISC) was officially designated as a separate corporate entity
dedicated to scientific and training programs. SCRF quickly outgrew the Torrey Pines facility and, in conjunction with RISC,
sought arrangements with various chemical and pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson and Johnson and PPG Industries Inc.,
to finance further development and expansion. Such arrangements enabled The Scripps Research Institute to develop a host of
facilities including the Anderson Outpatient Pavilion, the Immunology Building, the Molecular Biology Building, and others
in the 1980s. Additionally, TSRI now encompasses a network of outpatient clinics throughout San Diego County, with an additional
clinic in Riverside County.
Today TSRI is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit, private medical centers in the United States dedicated to continuing
medical education, biomedical research and patient care. The Institute now specializes in the areas of allergy and immunology,
cardiology, clinical pathology, dermatology, diabetes, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general medicine, hematology, nephrology,
neurology, pulmonary diseases, radiology, and rheumatology.
The Scripps Research Institute. Office of Public Affairs Records, MSS 0072. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Not Available
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Burr, Raymond, 1917-1993
Copley, James S., (James Strohn)
Dixon, Frank J., (Frank James), 1920-2008
Green, Cecil Howard, 1990-2003
Hastings, A. Baird
Hazard, R.W.
Keeney, Edmund L.
Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation.
Scripps Research Institute Buildings.
Scripps, Ellen Browning, 1836-1932
Sherrill, James W.
Clinics--California--San Diego County
Hospitals -- California -- San Diego County
Medical laboratories -- California
Medical research personnel -- California
Medicine -- California -- San Diego County -- History
Medicine research -- California
Photographic prints -- 20th Century.